BERKELEY, Calif. - Tony Parker and Bryce Alford each scored 15 points as the UCLA basketball team dropped a 75-63 decision to California in a Pac-12 game on Thursday evening.
The Bruins were unable to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit. UCLA reduced Cal’s lead to as few as four points (59-55) with under six minutes to play in regulation but could not tie the contest.
Jabari Bird scored a game-high 20 points to lead the host Golden Bears (20-8, 10-5), who secured their sixth consecutive win before 11,858 fans at Haas Pavilion. Jaylen Brown finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyrone Wallace logged 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for California.
"We didn’t start the game or the second half, defensively, how we would’ve liked," UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. "Other than that, I thought that defensively, we did some good things. This [Cal] team is a very good defensive team. They make it hard on you and I thought that we started to get into a flow in the second half."
Thomas Welsh totaled a game-leading 16 rebounds for UCLA (15-13, 6-9), recording nine points and two blocks off the bench.
Trailing 61-55 with just under five minutes to play, UCLA missed free throws on two separate 1-on-1 opportunities. Alford was unsuccessful from the line with 4:49 to play before Holiday missed the front end of a 1-on-1 chance at the 4:32 mark and UCLA still trailing, 61-55.
From there, California pushed its lead to 63-55 on a jump shot by Jordan Mathews. After the Bruins responded with a fastbreak dunk by Aaron Holiday, California was able to extend its margin to as many as 12 points with 1:54 left to play.
UCLA trailed from the start, falling behind 13-1 in the game’s first five minutes. Back-to-back baskets by Isaac Hamilton, who finished with 12 points, and Welsh reduced Cal’s lead to 13-5. With 12:02 left in the opening half, the Bruins had cut the Golden Bears’ advantage to 14-9.
The Bruins never led against Cal and saw the Golden Bears push their margin to as many as 12 points with 4:20 left before halftime. UCLA responded with a 7-0 scoring run to close the gap to 30-25 with 2:24 remaining in the first half.
LOS ANGELES - Isaac Hamilton made each of his first four 3-point shots and finished with 22 points to lead the UCLA basketball team past Colorado, 77-53, before 8,492 in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night.
Hamilton scored in double figures for the 23rd consecutive game, the longest such streak by any UCLA player since 2007-08, when Kevin Love scored in double figures in all 39 games.
Tony Parker returned to UCLA’s starting lineup, scoring 16 points and grabbing six rebounds, and Bryce Alford finished with 13 points and nine assists.
“I thought that was a really good 40 minutes,” UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. “I thought we had a great team effort with 21 assists, seven turnovers. We shared the basketball, we got good shots, we shot a high percentage, and we got some of those shots against Utah [on Thursday] but didn’t make them.”
The Bruins (15-12, 6-8 Pac-12) led from start to finish against Colorado (19-9, 8-7), securing a 5-0 lead before opening the margin to as many as seven points (12-5) in the game’s first five minutes.
Hamilton scored 17 of his team-leading 22 points in the first half. He made 9 of 12 shots, including 4 of 6 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc, and grabbed five rebounds.
UCLA led by a 30-25 margin with 4:25 to play before halftime. Hamilton nailed a 3-pointer with 4:01 remaining and Alford followed that with a 3-point shot at the 3:36 mark to give the Bruins a 36-25 cushion. Alford’s ensuing 3-pointer with 39 seconds to play in the opening half helped UCLA enter the locker room at the intermission with a 44-28 advantage.
The Bruins outscored Colorado in the second half, 33-25, and never saw their lead fall to fewer than 16 points.
UCLA enters the final two weeks of its regular season with four games to play. The Bruins will hit the road this week, playing at California on Thursday evening (6 p.m.) and at Stanford on Saturday (1:30 p.m.).
The Bruins will close their regular-season schedule at home the following week with games against No. 16 Oregon on Wednesday, March 2 and Oregon State on Saturday, March 5.
LOS ANGELES -- Isaac Hamilton knows that for the UCLA Bruinsand their postseason aspirations there's no time left for slip-ups.
"We just have to fight, and continue fighting," said Hamilton, who scored 22 points as the Bruins ran away from a cold-shooting Colorado 77-53 on Saturday night. "We have to play like we're paranoid.
"When we play like that we're a different ball club, offensively and defensively."
The Bruins won for only the third time in eight games. They shot 50 percent, making 11 of 20 3-pointers.
"From here on out we have to play with urgency, with pace, and muster up some wins," Hamilton said.
Tony Parker scored 16 points and Bryce Alford added 13 for UCLA (15-12, 6-8 Pac-12), which moved into a tie for eighth place with four league games remaining.
"It's all about playing with passion," said Parker. "I got off slow, missed a few shots early, but I just had to keep playing hard."
Xavier Talton scored 12 points and Josh Fortune added 10 for Colorado (19-9, 8-7), which lost its fourth straight road game and tied Washington for sixth place with three league games to play.
"We just didn't make jump shots, and that doesn't help," said Talton. "We have to get the ball into Josh (Scott), Wesley (Gordon) and Tory (Miller). They have to touch the ball more. We have to play inside-out if we want to beat a team like UCLA."
Playing predominantly zone defense and packing the paint, the Bruins took away Colorado's inside game, holding the Buffaloes to a season-low 31-percent shooting. Colorado was 3 of 17 from inside the arc in the first half and 10 of 36 for the game.
The Bruins outscored Colorado 24-14 in the paint.
UCLA took control 11 minutes into the game, outscoring the Buffaloes 20-8 over a 7:18 span, taking a 44-28 halftime lead on a 3-pointer by Bryce Alford with 39 seconds left. Colorado got no closer than 48-32 in the second half.
"We were battling. It was a five-point game with 4 1/2 minutes to go (in the first half)," said Colorado Coach Tad Boyle. "That last 4 1/2 minutes is important. They go on a 14-3 run and that's the ballgame.
"We just broke down with defensive assignments, and it wasn't just one guy. It was a multitude of guys."
The Bruins, who had lost three of their previous four home games, beat Colorado for the seventh time in eight games since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12.
"We tried pressure. We tried trapping. Nothing worked," said Boyle. "Our execution level right now on both ends of the floor is not very good."
---
TIP-INS
Colorado: The Buffaloes came into the game having committed 20 or more turnovers in three of their previous four games. ... Prior to their loss on Saturday night, the Buffaloes were 11-0 this season when they have notched more assists than turnovers. They had 15 assists, 11 turnovers against the Bruins. ... Josh Scott, Colorado's leading scorer, was held to nine points, the first full game this season he failed to reach double figures. He scored just one point against Oregon State, but was forced out after 16 minutes due to an ankle injury.
UCLA: Isaac Hamilton extended his double-digit scoring streak to 23 games, the longest Bruins streak since 2007-08 when Kevin Love scored at least 10 points in all 39 games. ... Tony Parker and Thomas Walsh entered the game ranked first and second in the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds but managed only two against the Buffaloes, who ranked second in conference in defensive rebound percentage. ... Parker returned to the Bruins' starting lineup after five games coming off the bench.
LOS ANGELES - Isaac Hamilton scored a team-leading 25 points in a 75-73 loss to Utah before 7,249 at Pauley Pavilion in Pac-12 game on Thursday night.
Trailing by 14 points with nearly seven minutes left in the second half, Hamilton nearly helped bring the Bruins (14-12, 5-8) all the way back. He scored 10 points in a 3-minute, 30-second span late in the second half to help UCLA reduced Utah’s lead from 66-53 to 70-68.
UCLA reduced Utah’s lead to just two points – 70-68 – with 2:30 left in the game, but the Bruins were unable to tie the contest on two ensuing possessions. The visiting Utes (20-7, 9-5) increased their advantage to five points with 15 seconds remaining on a 3-pointer by Brandon Taylor, who finished with 12 points and seven assists.
UCLA’s Thomas Welsh hit a jumper with six seconds left, trimming Utah’s cushion to three points, before Kyle Kuzma broke free on the inbounds play and sealed Utah’s victory with a dunk with three seconds to play. Aaron Holiday nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but it wasn’t enough.
Bryce Alford finished with 11 points for the Bruins, while Welsh and Holiday each scored 10.
Utah’s Jordan Loveridge scored a team-leading 17 points. Jakob Poeltl notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Utes.
UCLA and Utah were tied at halftime, 31-31, before the Utes raced to a 64-50 advantage with 7:02 to play. Alford’s 3-point shot sparked a 10-3 scoring run for the Bruins, helping bring UCLA to within seven points (67-60) with 4:27 remaining.
The Bruins followed with an 8-0 scoring run, capped by a layup from Hamilton, trimming Utah’s cushion to 70-68 at the 2:30 mark. That was as close as the Bruins could get in the game’s final minutes.
UCLA is back in action on Saturday evening, hosting Colorado in Pauley Pavilion. Game time is 8 p.m. UCLA’s game against the Buffaloes will be nationally televised by Fox Sports 1.
TEMPE, Ariz. - Jonah Bolden scored a season-high 16 points and added nine rebounds to lead the UCLA basketball team past Arizona State before 6,710 at Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday night.
Bryce Alford registered his first double-double of the season (the third of his career), totaling 10 points and 11 assists with zero turnovers to propel the Bruins (14-11, 5-7).
Arizona State (14-12, 4-9) received a game-high 21 points from Andre Spight, who attempted all seven of his shot attempts from behind the three-point line (5-for-7). Obinna Oleka logged a double-double, totaling 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Sun Devils.
Prince Ali and Isaac Hamilton each scored 12 points for the Bruins, who secured their first win at Arizona State since Feb. 23, 2012.
UCLA led 37-35 at halftime after having pushed its cushion to as many as seven points in the game’s first five minutes. Alford led the Bruins with nine first-half points, connecting on four of his first seven shots from the field.
Arizona State claimed a one-point lead on a 3-pointer from Tra Holder just 27 seconds into the second half before Aaron Holiday answered with a 3-point basket, giving the Bruins the lead for good.
Bolden followed with a 3-pointer at the 18:37 mark to give UCLA a 43-38 cushion. The Bruins used a 5-0 scoring run to secure a 48-40 advantage with 14:15 to play.
UCLA claimed its first double-digit lead of the night with 7:19 remaining in the game. Alford found Ali, who nailed a 3-pointer to give the Bruins a 65-54 cushion. From that point, UCLA’s margin never fell to fewer than 10 points.
An offensive rebound and ensuing dunk by Bolden with 1:48 to play pushed the Bruins’ advantage to 17 points (73-56).
The Bruins return to action against Utah (19-7, 8-5) in Pauley Pavilion on Thursday, Feb. 18. Game time is 7 p.m. (PT).
Game Notes: Bryce Alford became UCLA's first player to record at least 10 assists without any turnovers since Jan. 23, 2014, when Kyle Anderson finished with 10 assists and zero turnovers against Stanford ... Isaac Hamilton (12 points) has scored in double figures in UCLA's last 21 games, the longest such streak by any UCLA player since the 2007-08 season, when then-freshman Kevin Love scored in double figures in all 39 games ... UCLA recorded its first win at Arizona State for the first time in its last three games (previously, the Bruins had lost at ASU in 2013 and 2015 and didn't play there in 2014).
TUCSON, Ariz. - Isaac Hamilton scored a team-leading 24 points as the UCLA basketball team dropped an 81-75 decision at No. 17 Arizona before 14,644 at the McKale Center on Friday night.
Arizona (20-5, 8-4 Pac-12) overcame a 44-34 halftime deficit, outscoring the Bruins (13-11, 4-7) over the game’s final nine minutes by a 29-16 margin.
Hamilton made 10 of 15 shots from the field and was one of three Bruins to score in double figures along with Bryce Alford (17 points) and Jonah Bolden (10 points).
Arizona’s Allonzo Trier registered a team-leading 18 points for the Wildcats. Ryan Anderson finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Kaleb Tarczewski had nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Parker Jackson-Cartwright totaled a career-high 16 points for Arizona.
UCLA entered halftime with a 10-point advantage, having led by as many as 11 points in the opening half.
The host Wildcats steadily reduced UCLA’s advantage in the game’s final 12 minutes. Freshman Prince Alimade a layup while being fouled with 9:14 to play, putting the Bruins ahead 59-52. Arizona followed with an 8-0 scoring run to secure a 60-59 lead at the 7:30 mark, the Wildcats’ first advantage since early in the first half.
UCLA responded with a jump shot from Bolden, giving the Bruins a 61-60 cushion. The next three minutes of the game featured four ties before Arizona claimed the lead for good, 71-70, on a dunk by Tarczewski with 3:10 to play.
The Bruins played the final 10 minutes of the game in foul trouble, as both Tony Parker and Thomas Welshhad fouled out with six minutes remaining.
A three-pointer by Parker Jackson-Cartwright pushed Arizona ahead, 74-70, with 2:32 left, before Gabe York made a layup, drew a foul and made the ensuing free throw to put the Wildcats on top, 78-70.
UCLA closed the gap to 79-75 on a three-pointer from Alford with 26 seconds to go, but the Bruins were unable to draw any closer.
Arizona took advantage of 31 fouls committed by UCLA, making 29 of 45 free throw attempts. The Bruins shot 75 percent from the line, making 12 of 16 free throws.
UCLA returns to action at Arizona State on Sunday, Feb. 14. Game time at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz., is slated for 5:30 p.m. (PT)/6:30 p.m. (MT).
Game Notes: Isaac Hamilton has scored at least 10 points in each of UCLA’s last 20 games, the longest such streak by any UCLA player since 2007-08, when freshman Kevin Love scored in double figures in all 39 games … Hamilton scored at least 20 points for the eighth time this season … Jonah Bolden finished with 10 points and six rebounds in his fourth start of the year – he totaled a season-high five made field goals … the Bruins tied their season high for most fouls committed (31, also at Washington on Jan. 1) … UCLA shot 53.1 percent from the field in the first half and concluded the game having shot 46.0 percent.
LOS ANGELES - Aaron Holiday scored a team-leading 15 points as the UCLA basketball team dropped an 80-61 decision before a capacity crowd of 10,258 at the Galen Center on Thursday night.
USC (18-5, 7-3) received a team-best 17 points from Julian Jacobs, while Jordan McLaughlin dished a game-high 10 assists and scored nine points.
The visiting Bruins (13-10, 4-6) absorbed their first loss at USC’s Galen Center since Jan. 9, 2011, snapping a four-game winning streak in the Trojans’ home arena. UCLA has gone 7-3 at the Galen Center since it opened prior to the 2006-07 season.
Holiday was one of four Bruins to score in double figures. Tony Parker finished with 13 points, while Isaac Hamilton and Bryce Alford each tallied 10.
The Trojans led Thursday night’s Pac-12 tilt from start to finish, opening the game with a 9-0 scoring run by connecting on their first four shots. UCLA countered with a 5-0 run and later trimmed the deficit to 14-11 on a layup by Tony Parker with 14:38 left in the opening half.
USC led at halftime by a 39-28 margin and never saw its second-half advantage fall to fewer than six points. With 4:06 left in the contest, Hamilton nailed a 3-pointer to cut the Trojans’ cushion to 62-56. USC immediately responded with a 3-pointer from Elijah Stewart, pushing the Trojans’ lead back to nine points (65-56).
Stewart finished with 16 points for USC, while Katin Reinhardt totaled 13 and Bennie Boatwright had 12.
UCLA out-rebounded USC by a 40-34 margin, securing 17 offensive boards. Thomas Welsh grabbed a game-leading 12 rebounds for the Bruins, including seven on the offensive end.
The Bruins return to action at No. 23 Arizona (18-5, 6-4) on Friday, Feb. 12. That game will be nationally televised by ESPN. Game time is slated for 6 p.m. (PT).
I got a chance to catch up with Alfred during the holidays. Alfred is one-half of the Cameroonian combo along with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Fondly referred to as "AA2" on Bruin Zone(Arron Afflalo being AA), Alfred played at the 4 and 5 position in the Bruin line up. AA2 wore #12 and played at UCLA for 4 years, from 2005-09, reaching the Final 4 three times, and the championship game once. AA2 is back in Westwood, working on his Master's Degree. 1) Alfred, Happy New Year! What are you doing these days? I
heard you are back at UCLA?
I am completing the classes that I
did not complete in the first year of my Master's program in Public Affairs.
Upon completion of the classes, hopefully I will be readmitted back to The UCLA
Luskin School of Public Affairs. After my degree, I hope to start my political
career which will take me back home to Cameroon.
2) How does it feel like being back on campus? Who are the
players and coaches you've run into over there? Do you guys hang out? Play
basketball?
It feels different being back on
campus, because when I was here before, i was a student athlete but now I am a
full time student. And I have not run into anyone else from when I was here
playing. I haven't play basketball in months but I will resume with it
soon.
3) I saw the video you did for UCLA, where you talked about what
UCLA meant to you. How did that come about?
I was visiting UCLA and one of the media guy
approached me and asked me if I had a minute to do a video and talk about my
UCLA experience, and I did.
4) When did you start playing basketball? Was basketball your first sport? If your
first sport was not basketball, what made you decide to go with
basketball?
14 years old. Before basketball, I
played soccer, handball, volleyball. But when I grew taller, I started playing
basketball.
5) Who recruited you to UCLA?
Coach Ernie Ziegler when I was
attending Tildon Prep School in New Hampshire.
6) Did you know of UCLA before they came to recruit you?
I did not know anything about UCLA
at all prior of coming and visit on my recruiting trip.
9) Do you hate Florida? They were
always the team that bumped UCLA out of the tournament.
No, I don't hate Florida. They were better than us the both times we played them.
10) Do you still remember that dunk you had on Joakim Noah? Did
you guys draw that play (Darren to you for the slam) during the last time out
or was that unplanned/impromptu? Interestingly, Joakim is half-Cameroonian, he
didn't let you dunk on him as a favor, did he?
It was one of our baseline out of
bounds play. I don't particularly think about it, but I have been reminded of
it everywhere I went on to play, which is pretty neat.
11) Can you summarize your basketball history? Starting from
high school, then UCLA, then your pro teams? How was Japan? Did you run into
other UCLA players out there?
"FUN" can summarize my
basketball career since I won at every level (High School, UCLA and Pro) .
Fortunately or unfortunately, I did not play against any UCLA teammates
overseas. Japan was a mixture of great and scary moments. Winning the
championship there was great, and experiencing the Tsunami and the earthquake
was the scary part.
12) You recently shut down your pro ball career. Why did you
feel it was time to move on from pro basketball? What will you miss from being
a pro baller?
I couldn't get offers that were
satisfying for me to play overseas and that prompted my decision to shut it
down. The basketball skills are transferable, I think. So my work ethic,
dedication, team work etc... could be transferred to the work place. Consequently,
nothing will be missed because everything will still be used.
13) You have a foundation, 3 A (Alfred Aboya Academy), can you
talk about what your foundation does?
The foundation provides inner city
kids in Yaounde a platform for them to learn and better their basketball
skills; and most importantly, to better themselves as human beings through
community services that we participate in.
14) How about a shout out to Cameroon, why do you think people
should visit Cameroon? What makes it special? Any more Indomitable Lions coming
out from Cameroon and playing hoops (like Embid, Batum)?
Cameroon is often "Miniature
Africa" because it contains everything that the continent has to offer. If
you are a beach person, Douala, Kribi, and Limbe got you covered. If you love
safari, The Northern part got you covered with the "Park the Waza"
and lions in the wild. If you are an adventurous person, the rain forests' got
you covered.
15) How do you feel about the
current status of Cameroon basketball? (The National Team, not pro)
We took a step
back with the past Afrobasket. But we are a young team and we'll be alright. So
I'm not too concern about the current situation of my national team.
16) Back to UCLA Basketball, do you still follow UCLA Basketball? How do you feel about the current status of UCLA Basketball?
I do follow UCLA basketball and I hope that we go back to our old ways which is "" dominate "" college basketball.
17) Thanks so much, Alfred. Best of luck in grad school! Ciao!!! Alfred Aboya highlights at UCLA
Alfred Aboya talks about his parents, his 6'8" grandmother and growing crops (LA Times March 4 2009)
Their UCLA legacy: Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, Alfred Aboya (LA Times March 23 2009)
Alfred Aboya highlights in the pros.
Other links on Alfred: Alfred's profile on www.uclabruins.com (link) Wikipedia entry on Alfred (link)
LOS ANGELES - Isaac Hamilton scored a game-leading 22 points and had six assists as the UCLA basketball team defeated Washington State, 83-50, before 9,024 in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
Hamilton led a group of five Bruins who scored in double figures. Thomas Welsh recorded his ninth double-double of the season, totaling 10 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes.
"Obviously when you get a tough loss like we had on Thursday, you show up today and could be tighter and really play passive, but I thought the guys did a really good job," UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. "I think that was the best 40 minutes that we’ve had all year, offensively and defensively."
UCLA (13-9, 4-5) employed a different starting lineup on Saturday against the Cougars (9-12, 1-8), inserting sophomore Jonah Bolden at forward after having dropped consecutive games to Oregon and Washington. Bolden finished with seven rebounds, three points and two steals in 26 minutes.
Tony Parker was efficient for the Bruins off the bench, recording 11 points and three rebounds while going a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
After surrendering an early 3-pointer, the Bruins claimed a 4-3 lead with 17:16 left in the first half and never trailed the rest of the way. UCLA pushed its first-half lead to as many as 14 points and entered the locker room at halftime with a 36-23 cushion.
Ike Iroegbu scored a team-leading 16 points for Washington State, while Que Johnson came off the bench to record 12 points.
The Bruins extended their margin in the second half, pushing their advantage to as many as 20 points (50-30) with 14:20 to play. Leading 38-30 at the 16:43 mark, UCLA received five consecutive points from Bryce Alford during a 12-0 scoring run to secure the 20-point cushion.
With under six minutes to play, the Bruins continued to widen their margin. Hamilton was fouled on a dunk and nailed the ensuing free throw to put UCLA ahead of Washington State, 70-48, with 4:09 to play.
UCLA closed the game on an 18-2 scoring run to secure a 33-point victory.
The Bruins will return to action at USC (17-5, 6-3) on Thursday, Feb. 4. Game time USC’s Galen Center is slated for 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
Game Notes: UCLA's 33-point margin of victory was the team's largest in a conference game since Jan. 31, 2009, when the Bruins defeated Stanford in Pauley Pavilion by 34 points (97-63) ... Isaac Hamilton scored in double figures for the 18th consecutive game, UCLA's longest such streak since 2012-13, when freshman Shabazz Muhammad had at least 10 points in 19 straight contests ... Aaron Holiday scored in double figures for the eighth straight game ... UCLA improved its record to 10-0 when holding the opposition to fewer than 80 points.
