UCLA pulls away from Cardinal 72-61
If Johnny Dawkins would've jammed his fingers any harder, he might've broken them.
By the time the Stanford head coach called a timeout with 12 minutes, 33 seconds left in the first half, his Cardinal were reeling and the UCLA basketball team was scorching.
Sophomore guard Tyler Lamb's 3-pointer gave the Bruins a 10-point lead in the game's first eight minutes and UCLA barely cooled off in the first half.
Stanford, though, benefited from Bruin sloppiness late in the second half to make it a tight game once more, and two teams whose first matchup went to the wire once more battled it out.
The Bruins, though, pulled out their second-straight win with a 72-61 victory over Stanford on Thursday night at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
After falling to the Cardinal in the team's Pac-12 opening matchup on Dec. 29 after senior guard Lazeric Jones' would-be game-winning attempt was blocked by Stanford forward Josh Heustis, UCLA felt like the Cardinal stole one.
"We were upset we got that loss - we fought and stayed in it up there," said Jones, who followed up his 26-point performance in the first matchup with a 21-point, six-assist, six-steal game on Thursday. "But not only did we want this game, the fans were out and supporting us and the fact they packed the house and stayed behind us really kept us going."
Apparently the Bruins tried to steal this one right back quickly.
UCLA had six steals in the game's first nine minutes and Stanford committed 13 turnovers in the first half, finishing with 22 for the game. The Bruins also added 11 blocks, including three each by Anthony Stover and Travis Wear.
"Our defense has improved," Howland said. "You think about how our defense was the first time we played them the first time - we had to go to zone because we couldn't stop them."
Added sophomore forward Travis Wear: "We were rotating - the bigs did a great job of rotating and getting blocked shots. We tried to wall up. It was a tightly called game so we were just trying to wall up."
UCLA's increased energy on defense might've been a product of necessity as Travis Wear's high ankle sprain limited his minutes and Joshua Smith was plagued by early foul trouble. The Sports Arena burst out in loud boos when Smith picked up his third foul with just over six minutes left in the first half, Smith's second offensive foul of the evening, this, after the sophomore center scored a combined 43 points in the UCLA's previous two games.
The Bruins might've been better in a constant state of flux.
The very next play after Smith's third foul, Stover grabbed a rebound, passed it up to Jones who found a streaking Travis Wear for the dunk, putting the Bruins back up 12 after the Cardinal cut it to seven with a 10-2 run.
"Teams are not going to just fold," said senior guard Jerime Anderson, who finished with 12 points and six assists. "We have to be able to take those hits and keep rolling, keep the lead and play good basketball."
Stanford atoned for its earlier sins with a good start to the second half, trimming the Bruins' lead to three twice in the first five minutes. UCLA recaptured the momentum midway through the second half, though, reeling off a 7-0 run, capped off by a Jones-to-Anderson behind-the-back breakaway dunk that gave the Bruins a 46-36 lead.
Down the stretch, however, UCLA committed costly turnover after costly turnover, watching the Cardinal cut it all the way to 56-53 before the Bruins went on a 10-0 run to give themselves some breathing room.
"We built a nice lead in the first half twice, and every time they grinded their way back in the game," Howland said. "We had some big shots down the stretch - but we the zone bothered us. We had too many turnovers. We were way too loose with the ball."
UCLA beat Stanford by 11?
We're only a bit back behind the conference leaders?
The team's showing consistent improvement?
Fire Howland!
Fire Port Wine Guerrero!
Fire the Yell Leader Guy!
Fire Josephine the Bear!
Seriously? You have nothing better to do than complain about another blog? How about a little respect for the great work that Jon has been doing? Man, that is pathetic.
Here's a suggestion: if you don't like what they say, don't read it.
And Jon, thanks for all the goods, especially the videos.
RELAX Janss-babysteps! this is the freaking comments section of a sports blog not the NY Times. His comment was way more entertaining than yours anyway. Chill your punk ass out!
CBH is on his game. If you think we're not serious contenders for a natty, get out of here. Smith can't be stopped. We win PAC tourney easily.
FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT
@anon755: Calm the fuck down.
dudebro, I am trying to relax by reading this blog. My punk ass is chill, internet tough guy. If you want entertainment go back to watching Looney Tunes. I don't get how someone else's whining is entertaining to you, but whatever floats your boat. Like I said, pathetic.
And you keep whining.
You'd call that "pathetic."
Not that I am a big defender of BruinsNation, but the team being "a bit back" from the conference leaders late in a year when the Pac 12 is awful is not something to highlight. The fact is UCLA has underperformed this year.
Now, as for Dan Guerrero, if he only stuck to port, everyone would think he is doing a wonderful job. But he hasn't. He drinks chianti by the gallon, and THAT is the problem.
Happiness is defeating a team wearing the color red. Our team may suck but I'm happy we gave Stanford a beating.
Of course, in isolation, being "a bit back" is not much to cheer about, especially when your expectations are high.
However, taken in context, it is a positive sign.
But that's not the point. UCLA could win the National Championship and Nestor and his minions would still be whining . . . or worse, trying to take credit for "lighting a fire under Howland" or some other sort of nonesense.
But subtleties like that are lost on Nestorites.
"nonsense"
I enjoy all anti-BN sentiments. Those guys need to be exterminated from the UCLA brand.
I totally agree. If Guerrero just stuck to port, UCLA would be fine. It's when he breaks into the chianti when things go south for the bruins . . .
I for one think that Howland is doing a fine job. Yes, he is having a down year (actually, 2 down years in a row), but if he lands Shabazz and Parker, he will have a tough squad next year. Nestor and his minions can only cheer for that.
What's wrong with Spaulding?