BRUINS HAVE JUST ENOUGH TO GET BY FARMAR, COLLISON COMBINE TO HELP UCLA SLIP PAST WAGNER UCLA 74, WAGNER 72.Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer 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 arrived home from a successful trip to Michigan last Saturday night. The Bruins' legs haven't made quite made it back yet. That was obvious with every 3-point attempt that clanked off the rim and every free throw that didn't quite find the net on Wednesday night against Wagner College Wagner was recently declared by the Princeton Review 2008 366 Best Colleges as having the 2nd best college theater in the nation. The 2008 Review also named it among the top 10 in "College with the Most Beautiful Campus. . The result was a too-close-for-comfort brush with a major upset against a seemingly outmanned opponent. It was so close that the Bruins needed a layup from Luc Richard Mbah A Moute Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (born 9 September 1986 in Yaounde, Cameroon) is a 6' 8" Cameroonian basketball player who plays for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins in the Pacific Ten Conference of the NCAA. with 14 seconds left and a decisive defensive stand in the closing seconds to secure a 74-72 victory in front of 7,738 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. . ``Nothing was really working for us for most of the night,'' said 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. , who grooved a perfect pass to Mbah A Moute for the winning basket. ``We came out sluggish and a little bit out of it. But we got it together in time to win so we'll take it.'' The game was in doubt until the final seconds. After Farmar found a wide open Mbah A Moute for a layup to make it 74-72, Wagner called a timeout and set up one final play. But 12th-ranked UCLA (9-1) played its best defensive sequence of the game, pushing Seahawks guard Mark Porter Mark Porter may refer to: mark porter singer. born 1964.[1]
Porter threw the ball up in desperation, but his shot left his hands after the final buzzer sounded. 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 scored 13 points for the Bruins, while Farmar and Darrin Collison each added 12. Lorenzo Mata and Cedric Bozeman Cedric R. Bozeman (born March 7 1983 in Los Angeles, California) is an American professional basketball player, formerly of the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. Bozeman averaged 1.1 points in 23 games with five starts with the Hawks before being waived in January 2007. had 11 points apiece. Porter finished with a game-high 19 points for Wagner. ``We were fortunate to get out of here with a win against a very determined opponent,'' UCLA coach Ben Howland Ben Howland (born May 28, 1957 in Lebanon, Oregon) is an American college head coach of men's basketball. He has been the head coach of the University of California, Los Angeles since 2003, and recently signed a contract extension through 2013. said. ``There's no doubt we struggled, and give (Wagner) credit, they came in here looking to beat us on our home court.'' And nearly did. The Seahawks (6-2) took advantage of UCLA's sluggish start (16 of 36 shooting in the first half, 3 of 10 from the free-throw line free-throw line n. See foul line. and 0 for 7 on 3-pointers) to build an eight-point lead midway through the first half. Wagner kept the pressure up in the second by hitting 8 of 10 3-pointers to lead by eight points with just over 10 minutes remaining. Some of the credit goes to Wagner's hot shooting, but some also goes to UCLA's lack of energy. The Bruins admit they were fatigued from the long trip to Michigan over the weekend - ``It's still messing with us,'' Farmar said - and Howland said he didn't help matters by putting the Bruins through a taxing workout Tuesday. ``That's the coaches' fault,'' he said. UCLA rallied to shoot 16 of 25 in the second half, but still finished 1 for 13 on 3-pointers and 9 of 18 from the free-throw line. But with Farmar and Collison sparking three UCLA runs in the first and second half, and Mata shaking off the flu to contribute a career-high 11 points inside, the Bruins stayed close enough to mount one final comeback over the final seven minutes. Collison, a freshman point guard, was especially effective. He teamed with Farmar in the backcourt in the first half to help UCLA overcome an eight-point deficit and take a 35-33 lead at halftime, then provided another spark off the bench in a critical five-minute stretch of the second half by scoring three baskets and dishing out an assist. That brought the Bruins back from another eight-point deficit. ``I just wanted to be aggressive and help my team win,'' said Collison, whose 12 points are a career high. ``I tried to go right at them and put the pressure on.'' Vincent Bonsignore, (818) 713-3612 vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: UCLA's Darren Collison Darren Michael Collison (born August 23, 1987) is an American basketball player. The right-hander is a native of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and is currently playing his sophomore season for the University of California, Los Angeles. scores over Wagner's Jamal Webb, right, during Wednesday's game at Pauley Pavilion. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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