DEFENSE ENABLES UCLA TO OVERCOME BRUINS PULL AWAY LATE FOR SECOND WIN UCLA 75, W. ILLINOIS 60.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer UCLA's offense was sometimes ragged, other times sloppy. The 22 turnovers were another issue, but the constant Tuesday was the Bruins' defense and rebounding. A defense, as 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 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. constantly preaches, that must be tenacious, unrelenting and tough. That defense held hapless Western Illinois scoreless for a pivotal seven-minute stretch in the second half that turned a close game into a 75-60 pull-away victory for the Bruins in front of 5,033 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. . Along with the defensive effort that limited the Leathernecks (0-2) to 9- of-30 shooting (30 percent) in the second half, the bigger and athletically superior Bruins (2-0) also held a 49-24 rebound advantage. However, turnovers were a problem, and freshman 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. was at the center of it. Although he scored 12 points and had six assists, he turned the ball over six times and has 14 turnovers in two games. ``I've really got to stop turning the ball over,'' Farmar said. ``I'm coming in here, supposed to get everybody involved and make things happen. I just have to take control and make everything happen on my time. I'm trying to thread the needle See Thread needle . It might be there later when we start jelling, but it's not open right now.'' Brian Morrison and 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 led UCLA with 13 points and Dijon Thompson Dijon Lynn Thompson (born February 23, 1983 in Los Angeles, California, USA) is an American professional basketball player for Alba Berlin of the German Bundesliga. added 11 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Western Illinois, which has lost 19 of 20 dating back to last season's 3-25 debacle, was led in scoring by Eulis Baez's 13 points, but he was limited, in part, by Thompson's strong defense. ``When you go out there with the intent to rebound, you're pretty much going to give a good effort,'' Thompson said. ``That's my intention, to go out there and rebound, and I'm focusing a lot more on that this year.'' Western Illinois pulled within 43-39 when David Jackson David Jackson is the name of several notable men:
Although UCLA again had trouble with turnovers and shot just 44.4 percent from the field, the defense enabled the Bruins to go on a 12-0 run that began with an Afflalo 3-pointer, featured a Matt McKinney put back, a 3-pointer from Morrison, an Afflalo lay-in and a Ryan Hollins Ryan Hollins (born October 10, 1984) is an American professional basketball player. At 7 foot, 225 lbs, he is a center from the University of California, Los Angeles. He was selected in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. basket as UCLA went ahead 55-39 with 11:22 to play. It wasn't until Western Illinois' Troy Okeson made a 3-pointer from the right side with 10:13 to play was the scoreless streak, which extended to 7 minutes, 17 seconds, snapped. ``The first half we fouled way too much,'' Howland said. ``We have to do a better job of playing defense with our feet, but we're playing hard. We're trying real hard.'' Between the fouls on the defensive end (UCLA was called for 14 first- half fouls), the Bruins' offense was in sync much of the first half as Farmar and Morrison connected on 3-pointers, and Michael Fey and Hollins were serviceable inside. Western Illinois, which lost its opener this season at Iowa by 23 points, used a 9-0 run to tie it 18-18 midway through the first half before taking control. Fey scored a chippie chip·pie n. Variant of chippy. to kickstart a 16-8 run that finished with a short jumper by Farmar to give UCLA a 36-26 with 6:07 left in the first half, but the offense went stagnant behind silly turnovers, poor shooting and bad shot selection. Farmar, who had 10 first-half points, scored UCLA's only points in the final six minutes of the half on a 3-pointer as UCLA went ahead 39-30, before taking a 39-33 lead into intermission. ``We have to do a better job of valuing the basketball,'' Howland said. ``We have to more understanding to value that ball.'' --Mata doubtful again: Howland said he didn't expect freshman center Lorenzo Mata to play Saturday against UC Irvine because of a sprained ankle A sprained ankle, also known as a ankle sprain, ankle injury or ankle ligament injury, is a common medical condition where one or more of the ligaments of the ankle is torn or partially torn. . Mata missed the first two games. Brian Dohn, (818) 713-3607 brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com |
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