AFFLALO'S DAY AT UCLA SCORES CAREER-HIGH 27 IN BRUINS' WIN VS. ARIZONA UCLA 84, ARIZONA 73.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer With family members, friends, current and former coaches and the student body packed into the gym Friday, Arron Afflalo Arron Agustin Afflalo (born October 15, 1985) is an American professional basketball player, currently with the Detroit Pistons. He recently completed a three-year career at University of California, Los Angeles in the Pacific Ten Conference of the NCAA as the starting shooting became the first basketball player in Compton Centennial High's history to have his jersey retired. The lunchtime ceremony brought even more humility upon the humble Afflalo, and as he rehashed the events his No. 4 jersey being put on the gym's wall, his eyes beamed, and a grin splashed across his face. On Saturday, Afflalo, now a sophomore guard at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , added a college moment to his fond basketball memories, breaking out of a slump with a career-high 27 points to lead No. 14 UCLA to an 84-73 defeat of fading Arizona in front of 8,718 at Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, informally and commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, California. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The men's and women's volleyball teams also play here. . ``Dealing with the now, I'm very happy with the way UCLA is going right now,'' Afflalo said. ``I'm happy things are going well for coach (Ben) Howland. He puts a lot of work into this program, and so does the team. And (Friday) was a historic moment, for the school and myself. That's something that will stay in my heart forever.'' Afflalo, who was Centennial's first McDonald's All-American, led the school to its first Div. III state title. His next chore is to take UCLA (19-4, 9-2 Pac-10) back to the top, and getting the first regular-season series sweep of Arizona since 1997 was a big step. It was also UCLA's biggest margin of victory against the Wildcats since 1983, and kept the Bruins atop the Pacific-10 conference The Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I. Membership Full members . Arizona (13-9, 6-5) lost three straight for the first time since the last three games of the 1991-92 season. The only potential downside for UCLA was another ankle injury to point guard Jordan Farmar Jordan Robert Farmar (born November 30, 1986) is an American professional basketball player at starting point guard for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. He was previously the starting point guard for the UCLA men's basketball team. . Although he sprained his left ankle early in the second half, he still played 16 of the final 20 minutes. X-rays afterward were negative. ``It's sore right now, but I'll try to get treatment tonight and try to stay off of it,'' said Farmar, who scored 13 points and had four assists. ``I'm trying to get off my feet. I'll play with it.'' Arizona, which turned the ball over 13 times in the first half and played uninspired man-to-man defense Man to man defense is a type of defensive tactic used in basketball and Football (Soccer) in which each player is assigned to defend and follow the movements of a single player on offense. Often, a player guards his counterpart (e.g. , was led in scoring by Hassan Adams' misleading 19 points. He didn't score in the first 15 minutes as the Bruins built a 42-23 lead. The Wildcats shot 58 percent from the field, but trailed by as many as 24 points in the second half before using a zone defense to help whittle UCLA's lead to 65-58 with 7:51 to play. ``We turned it over too much in the first half,'' said Arizona coach Lute Olson Robert Luther "Lute" Olson (born September 22, 1934 in Mayville, North Dakota) is the current men's basketball head coach at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. He is one of the UA's highest-paid employees, though a substantial percentage of his salary is supplemented by , who received one of two Wildcats technicals in the first half. Arizona's run of 21 straight NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
``I think that we're going to get in based on how we're doing,'' Howland said. ``We have to continue to win to try to increase our seed.'' The return of Afflalo's scoring, and shooting, touch is paramount for UCLA to make a March run. He was 5 of 12 from the field, but more important, Afflalo was 4 of 10 from 3-point range (he was 3 for his past 25) and went 13 of 16 from the free-throw line free-throw line n. See foul line. . ``This was great,'' Howland said. ``He got to the line. He was attacking the basket.'' Afflalo's 3-pointer early in the first half set the tone as the Bruins used a 21-5 run to turn a 12-9 lead into a 33-14 cushion. Afflalo had six points during the spurt, and Farmar added a pretty layup and set up baskets with his passing. When Arizona cut UCLA's lead to 65-58 with 7:51 to play, Afflalo came out of a timeout to convert a 3-pointer and restore the Bruins' comfort level. ``If anyone is questioning whether Arron's in a slump, that's over,'' Howland said. ``He's back. He played very, very well.'' Brian Dohn, (818) 713-3607 brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Arron Afflalo attempts a shot over Arizona's Marcus Williams Marcus Williams may refer to:
(2) As he drives to the hoop, UCLA's Alfred Aboya gets fouled by Arizona's Mustafa Shakur Mustafadden Abdush Shakur (born August 18, 1984 in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania) is an American basketball player currently with the Sacramento Kings. He was previously a point guard for the Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team. on Saturday. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion