Thursday, March 2, 2017
No. 3/2 UCLA Overwhelms Washington, 98-66
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mar 01, 2017 | UCLA MEN'S BASKETBALL
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LOS ANGELES - No. 2 UCLA cruised to its eight consecutive victory, downing Washington, 98-66, on Wednesday night in Pauley Pavilion. Senior Bryce Alford made eight three-pointers and scored 29 points to lead all players, and freshman Lonzo Ball flirted with a triple-double, with 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
UCLA (27-3, 14-3 in the Pac-12) scored the game's first 11 points and never looked back. The Huskies (9-20, 2-15) did not get closer than seven points the rest of the way, and UCLA took a 21-point lead (49-28) into halftime.
The second half was more of the same from UCLA, who opened up a 42-point lead over the Huskies after a three-pointer by Alford with 4:24 to play. The Bruins emptied the bench at the end of the game and played a season-high 13 players, 10 of whom scored.
"Really proud of the guys," said UCLA head coach Steve Alford. "We've practiced well all week since getting back from the Arizona trip. We were pretty impressive tonight. We were engaged right from the beginning, we really talked about concentration all week. I thought our guys really concentrated well. Lopsided game, to only have eight turnovers. I thought we were just really good in a lot of areas. We took good shots, we made shots, we shared it. Twenty-three assists again. This team just continues, regardless of what the circumstance is, we play awfully hard and we play together. I thought we were really good at both ends tonight."
Coach Alford Postgame Press Conference | UCLA Players Postgame Press Conference
Joining Alford and Ball in double-figure scoring was Isaac Hamilton, who had 15 points.
Noah Dickerson led the visiting Huskies with 23 points and 15 rebounds. He connected on 10 of 15 shots as one of two Washington players to score in double figures. Matisse Thybulle finished with 15 points for the Huskies.
The Bruins played most of the game without starting forward TJ Leaf, who left the game with a sprained left ankle five minutes into the contest. His status is day-to-day.
UCLA jumped to an 11-0 lead to open the game and never looked back. Washington reduced UCLA's early advantage to seven points with 13:18 to play, before the Bruins used a 16-2 scoring run to lead by a 33-17 margin with 10:10 left in the first half.
Leading at halftime, 49-28, the Bruins extended their second-half cushion to as many as 42 points with just over four minutes to play. Freshman guard Armani Dodson made his collegiate debut, scoring two points on a field goal in the game's final two minutes.
The Bruins will close their regular-season schedule against Washington State on Saturday evening. Game time is 7:15 pm. The Bruins will honor their three seniors – Bryce Alford, Isaac Hamilton and Jerrold Smith – prior to Saturday's tipoff. UCLA's game will be nationally televised on ESPN, with Steve Quis and Sean Farnham on the call and Jill Montgomery serving as the sideline reporter.
UCLA (27-3, 14-3 in the Pac-12) scored the game's first 11 points and never looked back. The Huskies (9-20, 2-15) did not get closer than seven points the rest of the way, and UCLA took a 21-point lead (49-28) into halftime.
The second half was more of the same from UCLA, who opened up a 42-point lead over the Huskies after a three-pointer by Alford with 4:24 to play. The Bruins emptied the bench at the end of the game and played a season-high 13 players, 10 of whom scored.
"Really proud of the guys," said UCLA head coach Steve Alford. "We've practiced well all week since getting back from the Arizona trip. We were pretty impressive tonight. We were engaged right from the beginning, we really talked about concentration all week. I thought our guys really concentrated well. Lopsided game, to only have eight turnovers. I thought we were just really good in a lot of areas. We took good shots, we made shots, we shared it. Twenty-three assists again. This team just continues, regardless of what the circumstance is, we play awfully hard and we play together. I thought we were really good at both ends tonight."
Coach Alford Postgame Press Conference | UCLA Players Postgame Press Conference
Joining Alford and Ball in double-figure scoring was Isaac Hamilton, who had 15 points.
Noah Dickerson led the visiting Huskies with 23 points and 15 rebounds. He connected on 10 of 15 shots as one of two Washington players to score in double figures. Matisse Thybulle finished with 15 points for the Huskies.
The Bruins played most of the game without starting forward TJ Leaf, who left the game with a sprained left ankle five minutes into the contest. His status is day-to-day.
UCLA jumped to an 11-0 lead to open the game and never looked back. Washington reduced UCLA's early advantage to seven points with 13:18 to play, before the Bruins used a 16-2 scoring run to lead by a 33-17 margin with 10:10 left in the first half.
Leading at halftime, 49-28, the Bruins extended their second-half cushion to as many as 42 points with just over four minutes to play. Freshman guard Armani Dodson made his collegiate debut, scoring two points on a field goal in the game's final two minutes.
The Bruins will close their regular-season schedule against Washington State on Saturday evening. Game time is 7:15 pm. The Bruins will honor their three seniors – Bryce Alford, Isaac Hamilton and Jerrold Smith – prior to Saturday's tipoff. UCLA's game will be nationally televised on ESPN, with Steve Quis and Sean Farnham on the call and Jill Montgomery serving as the sideline reporter.
The Box
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
No. 3/2 UCLA to Host Washington on Wednesday
feb 27, 2017 | UCLA MEN'S BASKETBALL
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LOS ANGELES – UCLA will close its regular-season schedule at home this week, facing Washington on Wednesday, March 1, before taking on Washington State on Saturday, March 4. The Bruins are looking to sweep the season series against Washington, having defeated the Huskies in Seattle, 107-66, on Saturday, Feb. 4. Most recently, UCLA won a pair of road games at Arizona State last Thursday and Arizona on Saturday to improve its overall record to 26-3 (and 13-3 in Pac-12 play).
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 8:15 p.m. (PT)
Television: FOX Sports 1 (FS1)
TV Talent: Tim Brando (play-by-play), Steve Lavin (analyst), Jim Jackson (sideline)
Radio: AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Radio Channels: Ch. 81/Ch. 81
SIRIUS App. Channel: Ch. 81
ABOUT THE BRUINS
- UCLA closes its regular season this week with home games against Washington (March 1) and Washington State (March 4). Last week, UCLA swept a pair of road games at Arizona State (87-75) and then-No. 4 Arizona (77-72).
- The Bruins went 7-0 through the month of February and were the Pac-12's only program to have logged a perfect record that month. No UCLA team had gone undefeated in February since the 1994-95 squad went 9-0.
- UCLA's overall field goal percentage (52.9%) is the highest mark in the nation. No team in NCAA Division I has shot that well from the field in one season since Duke finished with a 53.6 percentage as the 1992 NCAA Champions.
- The Bruins have averaged a nation-leading 21.7 assists per game, the highest per-game average of any NCAA Division I team since 1996, when Kentucky captured the NCAA Championship while tallying 21.8 assists per game.
- Senior guard Bryce Alford has moved into the No. 6 slot on UCLA's all-time scoring list (1,832 points) and trails UCLA's all-time three-point field goal leader Jason Kapono (317) by 10 three-pointers (Alford has made 307).
- The Bruins continue to lead the nation in points per game (91.6), assists per game (21.7), total assists (629), assist-turnover ratio (1.86) and overall field goal percentage (52.9 pct), through games played Saturday, Feb 25.
VICTORY AT ARIZONA
The Bruins extended their win streak to seven games – all in the month of February – with Saturday night's 77-72 win at No. 4 Arizona. UCLA became just the second team in the last four seasons to sweep the Pac-12 road trip at Arizona State and Arizona (Oregon recorded that sweep in Jan. 2016). Five Bruins scored in double figures on Saturday, as senior Bryce Alford led the way with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists while Lonzo Ball had 11 points and eight assists. UCLA improved to 3-0 this season against teams ranked in the top five of the AP poll.
ROAD SUCCESS
UCLA has picked up Pac-12 road sweeps at Colorado and Utah (Jan. 12-14), at Washington State and Washington (Feb. 1-4) and at Arizona State and Arizona (Feb. 23-25). In six seasons that the Pac-12 has included Colorado and Utah, the Rocky Mountain road sweep has been accomplished just four times – by UCLA in 2013 and 2017 and by Arizona in 2014 and 2015. UCLA has gone 7-2 in Pac-12 road games, the Bruins' best such record since going 8-1 in 2007-08. In all, the Bruins have posted a 12-2 record in road and neutral-site contests this season.
TOP PERFORMANCES
In UCLA's win at Washington (Feb. 4), four Bruins scored at least 20 points in the same game for the first time since Dec. 22, 1994, when Tyus Edney had 28 points in a 137-100 win over George Mason. UCLA's 107 points in the win at Washington (Feb. 4) were the most by a road team in a Pac-12 regulation contest (no overtime) since Jan. 10, 1998, when Arizona won at Washington by a 110-91 margin.
30-POINT THREATS
Bryce Alford, Isaac Hamilton and TJ Leaf have each scored at least 32 points this season, with all three performances taking place in Pac-12 play. Alford had a career-high 37 points at Colorado (Jan. 12), Hamilton recorded a season-high 33 points versus Arizona State (Jan. 19) and Leaf had 32 points at Washington State (Feb. 1). In all, six Bruins – including Lonzo Ball, Thomas Welsh and Aaron Holiday – have scored at least 20 points in a game this season.
HE'S BALLIN'
Lonzo Ball (14.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 7.6 apg) has emerged as a legitimate National Player of the Year and Freshman Player of the Year candidate. He has twice secured Pac-12 Player of the Week honors and will enter this Wednesday night's game as the nation's only player to have averaged at least 10 points, four rebounds and seven assists per game. He continues to lead the nation in both assists per game (7.6) and total assists (219), having recorded UCLA's highest single-season freshman assist total. He has surpassed Pooh Richardson's mark of 179 assists in 1985-86.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
UCLA has averaged a nation-leading 91.6 points per game, the fifth-highest average in school history. UCLA's 21.7 assists per game is the second-highest mark in school history behind the 1973-74 team (22.4 apg), since the assist was regularly tracked by UCLA in 1973-74. The Bruins' 1.86 assist-turnover ratio is the highest mark recorded at UCLA (since 1978-79). In the NCAA record book (assist-turnover tracked since 1992-93), UCLA's 1.86 ratio is the second-highest figure behind West Virginia's 2.01 mark set during the 2005-06 season.
AGAINST THE HUSKIES
UCLA looks to sweep the regular-season series against Washington on Wednesday. The Bruins downed the Huskies, 107-66, in Seattle on Saturday, Feb. 4. UCLA leads the all-time series against Washington, 97-42. In the previous meeting this season, four Bruins scored at least 20 points in the same game for the first time since Dec. 22, 1994, when Tyus Edney had 28 points for UCLA in a 137-100 win against George Mason. When UCLA won at Washington three weeks ago, Lonzo Ball scored a team-leading 22 points and had six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
POSITIONAL WATCH LISTS
Four UCLA players have been named to positional watch lists, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame (each list is comprised of 10 players). Freshman Lonzo Ball is among 10 candidates for this season's Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. Senior Bryce Alford has been named to the midseason watch list for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Freshman TJ Leaf is among 10 players selected to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. Senior Thomas Welsh has been named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Center of the Year watch list.
UCLA'S ROTATION, AT A GLANCE
- Bryce Alford ranks No. 6 on UCLA's all-time scoring list (1,832 career points). He scored a career-high 37 points, connecting on nine three-pointers, in UCLA's win at Colorado (Jan. 12). The senior guard has scored in double figures in 24 of 29 games and is currently shooting 50.0 percent from three-point range in Pac-12 games (58/116).
- Isaac Hamilton scored a season-high 33 points, connecting on 9 of 14 three-pointers, in UCLA's 102-80 win over Arizona State (Jan. 19). Hamilton had 25 points in the first half in that victory. He has averaged 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Hamilton is one of three Bruins to have made at least 55 three-pointers this year.
- Lonzo Ball, a national player of the year candidate, leads the nation in assists per game (7.6) and total assists (219). Averaging 14.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg, Ball's 219 assists are the most in one season by a UCLA freshman. He ranks fourth on UCLA's single-season assists list (Larry Drew II set the school record with 256 assists in 2012-13).
- TJ Leaf has scored at least 20 points in nine games. He ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in scoring (16.8 ppg) and is seventh in rebounding (8.7 rpg), through Feb. 26. Leaf scored a season-high 32 points and had 14 rebounds in the win at Washington State (Feb. 1), connecting on 14 of 18 shots. He has totaled a team-leading 11 double-doubles.
- Thomas Welsh (10.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.4 bpg) has made 30 of 32 free throw attempts. Welsh made 7 of 10 shots, totaling 14 points and eight rebounds, in UCLA's 77-72 win at No. 4 Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 25. He has scored in double figures in 16 of 25 games played, logging a career-high-tying 16 rebounds against USC on Saturday, Feb. 18.
- Aaron Holiday has averaged 13.1 points, 4.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game, appearing in all 29 games off the bench. He ranks third in the Pac-12 in three-point percentage (43.4%, 49/113) and fourth in assists per game (4.4) through Feb. 26. Holiday's 42.7 career three-point percentage (177/478) ranks fifth on UCLA's all-time list.
- Ike Anigbogu, (pronounced EE-kay ahn-ee-BOH-goo) a 6-foot-10 forward/center from Corona, Calif., has averaged 4.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 12.9 minutes per game off the bench. He scored a career-high 12 points in the win at Arizona State (Feb. 23) and has twice recorded a career-high four blocks.
- G.G. Goloman has averaged 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, averaging 10.9 minutes off the bench for the Bruins. A 6-foot-10 forward from Körmend, Hungary, Goloman has totaled 21 blocks in 28 games (0.75 bpg). Goloman, who has shot 56.8 percent from the field, scored a career-high 12 points in a win over CSUN (Nov. 13).
HOME SWEET HOME
UCLA has gone 14-1 in Pauley Pavilion this season. The Bruins' 11-game home win streak was snapped with a 96-85 loss to No. 14 Arizona. That had been the Bruins' longest home win streak since securing 15 straight wins in 2013-14, Steve Alford's first season in Westwood. UCLA last had an undefeated home record in 2006-07, going 16-0 in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins have gone 72-13 in Pauley since the arena reopened Nov. 9, 2012, after an 18-month renovation.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 8:15 p.m. (PT)
Television: FOX Sports 1 (FS1)
TV Talent: Tim Brando (play-by-play), Steve Lavin (analyst), Jim Jackson (sideline)
Radio: AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Radio Channels: Ch. 81/Ch. 81
SIRIUS App. Channel: Ch. 81
ABOUT THE BRUINS
- UCLA closes its regular season this week with home games against Washington (March 1) and Washington State (March 4). Last week, UCLA swept a pair of road games at Arizona State (87-75) and then-No. 4 Arizona (77-72).
- The Bruins went 7-0 through the month of February and were the Pac-12's only program to have logged a perfect record that month. No UCLA team had gone undefeated in February since the 1994-95 squad went 9-0.
- UCLA's overall field goal percentage (52.9%) is the highest mark in the nation. No team in NCAA Division I has shot that well from the field in one season since Duke finished with a 53.6 percentage as the 1992 NCAA Champions.
- The Bruins have averaged a nation-leading 21.7 assists per game, the highest per-game average of any NCAA Division I team since 1996, when Kentucky captured the NCAA Championship while tallying 21.8 assists per game.
- Senior guard Bryce Alford has moved into the No. 6 slot on UCLA's all-time scoring list (1,832 points) and trails UCLA's all-time three-point field goal leader Jason Kapono (317) by 10 three-pointers (Alford has made 307).
- The Bruins continue to lead the nation in points per game (91.6), assists per game (21.7), total assists (629), assist-turnover ratio (1.86) and overall field goal percentage (52.9 pct), through games played Saturday, Feb 25.
VICTORY AT ARIZONA
The Bruins extended their win streak to seven games – all in the month of February – with Saturday night's 77-72 win at No. 4 Arizona. UCLA became just the second team in the last four seasons to sweep the Pac-12 road trip at Arizona State and Arizona (Oregon recorded that sweep in Jan. 2016). Five Bruins scored in double figures on Saturday, as senior Bryce Alford led the way with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists while Lonzo Ball had 11 points and eight assists. UCLA improved to 3-0 this season against teams ranked in the top five of the AP poll.
ROAD SUCCESS
UCLA has picked up Pac-12 road sweeps at Colorado and Utah (Jan. 12-14), at Washington State and Washington (Feb. 1-4) and at Arizona State and Arizona (Feb. 23-25). In six seasons that the Pac-12 has included Colorado and Utah, the Rocky Mountain road sweep has been accomplished just four times – by UCLA in 2013 and 2017 and by Arizona in 2014 and 2015. UCLA has gone 7-2 in Pac-12 road games, the Bruins' best such record since going 8-1 in 2007-08. In all, the Bruins have posted a 12-2 record in road and neutral-site contests this season.
TOP PERFORMANCES
In UCLA's win at Washington (Feb. 4), four Bruins scored at least 20 points in the same game for the first time since Dec. 22, 1994, when Tyus Edney had 28 points in a 137-100 win over George Mason. UCLA's 107 points in the win at Washington (Feb. 4) were the most by a road team in a Pac-12 regulation contest (no overtime) since Jan. 10, 1998, when Arizona won at Washington by a 110-91 margin.
30-POINT THREATS
Bryce Alford, Isaac Hamilton and TJ Leaf have each scored at least 32 points this season, with all three performances taking place in Pac-12 play. Alford had a career-high 37 points at Colorado (Jan. 12), Hamilton recorded a season-high 33 points versus Arizona State (Jan. 19) and Leaf had 32 points at Washington State (Feb. 1). In all, six Bruins – including Lonzo Ball, Thomas Welsh and Aaron Holiday – have scored at least 20 points in a game this season.
HE'S BALLIN'
Lonzo Ball (14.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 7.6 apg) has emerged as a legitimate National Player of the Year and Freshman Player of the Year candidate. He has twice secured Pac-12 Player of the Week honors and will enter this Wednesday night's game as the nation's only player to have averaged at least 10 points, four rebounds and seven assists per game. He continues to lead the nation in both assists per game (7.6) and total assists (219), having recorded UCLA's highest single-season freshman assist total. He has surpassed Pooh Richardson's mark of 179 assists in 1985-86.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
UCLA has averaged a nation-leading 91.6 points per game, the fifth-highest average in school history. UCLA's 21.7 assists per game is the second-highest mark in school history behind the 1973-74 team (22.4 apg), since the assist was regularly tracked by UCLA in 1973-74. The Bruins' 1.86 assist-turnover ratio is the highest mark recorded at UCLA (since 1978-79). In the NCAA record book (assist-turnover tracked since 1992-93), UCLA's 1.86 ratio is the second-highest figure behind West Virginia's 2.01 mark set during the 2005-06 season.
AGAINST THE HUSKIES
UCLA looks to sweep the regular-season series against Washington on Wednesday. The Bruins downed the Huskies, 107-66, in Seattle on Saturday, Feb. 4. UCLA leads the all-time series against Washington, 97-42. In the previous meeting this season, four Bruins scored at least 20 points in the same game for the first time since Dec. 22, 1994, when Tyus Edney had 28 points for UCLA in a 137-100 win against George Mason. When UCLA won at Washington three weeks ago, Lonzo Ball scored a team-leading 22 points and had six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
POSITIONAL WATCH LISTS
Four UCLA players have been named to positional watch lists, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame (each list is comprised of 10 players). Freshman Lonzo Ball is among 10 candidates for this season's Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. Senior Bryce Alford has been named to the midseason watch list for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Freshman TJ Leaf is among 10 players selected to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. Senior Thomas Welsh has been named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Center of the Year watch list.
UCLA'S ROTATION, AT A GLANCE
- Bryce Alford ranks No. 6 on UCLA's all-time scoring list (1,832 career points). He scored a career-high 37 points, connecting on nine three-pointers, in UCLA's win at Colorado (Jan. 12). The senior guard has scored in double figures in 24 of 29 games and is currently shooting 50.0 percent from three-point range in Pac-12 games (58/116).
- Isaac Hamilton scored a season-high 33 points, connecting on 9 of 14 three-pointers, in UCLA's 102-80 win over Arizona State (Jan. 19). Hamilton had 25 points in the first half in that victory. He has averaged 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Hamilton is one of three Bruins to have made at least 55 three-pointers this year.
- Lonzo Ball, a national player of the year candidate, leads the nation in assists per game (7.6) and total assists (219). Averaging 14.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg, Ball's 219 assists are the most in one season by a UCLA freshman. He ranks fourth on UCLA's single-season assists list (Larry Drew II set the school record with 256 assists in 2012-13).
- TJ Leaf has scored at least 20 points in nine games. He ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in scoring (16.8 ppg) and is seventh in rebounding (8.7 rpg), through Feb. 26. Leaf scored a season-high 32 points and had 14 rebounds in the win at Washington State (Feb. 1), connecting on 14 of 18 shots. He has totaled a team-leading 11 double-doubles.
- Thomas Welsh (10.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.4 bpg) has made 30 of 32 free throw attempts. Welsh made 7 of 10 shots, totaling 14 points and eight rebounds, in UCLA's 77-72 win at No. 4 Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 25. He has scored in double figures in 16 of 25 games played, logging a career-high-tying 16 rebounds against USC on Saturday, Feb. 18.
- Aaron Holiday has averaged 13.1 points, 4.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game, appearing in all 29 games off the bench. He ranks third in the Pac-12 in three-point percentage (43.4%, 49/113) and fourth in assists per game (4.4) through Feb. 26. Holiday's 42.7 career three-point percentage (177/478) ranks fifth on UCLA's all-time list.
- Ike Anigbogu, (pronounced EE-kay ahn-ee-BOH-goo) a 6-foot-10 forward/center from Corona, Calif., has averaged 4.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 12.9 minutes per game off the bench. He scored a career-high 12 points in the win at Arizona State (Feb. 23) and has twice recorded a career-high four blocks.
- G.G. Goloman has averaged 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, averaging 10.9 minutes off the bench for the Bruins. A 6-foot-10 forward from Körmend, Hungary, Goloman has totaled 21 blocks in 28 games (0.75 bpg). Goloman, who has shot 56.8 percent from the field, scored a career-high 12 points in a win over CSUN (Nov. 13).
HOME SWEET HOME
UCLA has gone 14-1 in Pauley Pavilion this season. The Bruins' 11-game home win streak was snapped with a 96-85 loss to No. 14 Arizona. That had been the Bruins' longest home win streak since securing 15 straight wins in 2013-14, Steve Alford's first season in Westwood. UCLA last had an undefeated home record in 2006-07, going 16-0 in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins have gone 72-13 in Pauley since the arena reopened Nov. 9, 2012, after an 18-month renovation.
'All Access' extended: UCLA men's basketball freshmen bring sparks of energy to Bruin squad
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Thanks to Kaz for posting this on BZ.
Thanks to Kaz for posting this on BZ.
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