MANY POSITIVES IN TOUGH VICTORY BRUINS OFF TO BEST START IN FIVE YEARS UCLA 76, UC IRVINE 65.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer There were very few style points scored - aside from Josh Shipp's open-court dunk or Dijon Thompson's game-altering 3-pointer late in the second half - but for now that is the only way to define 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 . The Bruins are integrating four freshmen into their rotation, with two in the starting lineup For the line of action figures, see . A starting lineup in sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes , and there will be more than a few hiccups Hiccups Definition Hiccups are the result of an involuntary, spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm followed by the closing of the throat. Description along the route. Maybe a few dry heaves heaves, chronic pulmonary emphysema in horses. Heaves is characterized by the disruption of normal lung tissue with resultant loss of the lung's elastic recoil. A forced expiratory effort is needed to empty the lungs of air. . The only thing that matters is the scoreboard, and for the third successive game the Bruins made just enough shots, and came up with a few defensive stops when necessary, as they remained modestly unbeaten with a 76-65 defeat Saturday of UC Irvine 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. . ``This is always a difficult game when you're supposed to win, and all the pressure is on the home team,'' 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. ``(Irvine) came in here and played loose.'' There will be a couple more of these pressure-free games for UCLA opponents, with Long Beach State and Pepperdine visiting in the next week before higher-profile games take over the schedule. For now, UCLA's measuring stick is held by Chicago State, Western Illinois and UC Irvine (1-2), not exactly a sexy trio. Even so, the Bruins (3-0) are off to their best start since opening the 1999-2000 season with three wins. UCLA can begin a season 4-0 for the first time since the 1994-95 national championship run with a win Tuesday over Long Beach State, Irvine's Big West Conference rival. Should the Bruins stumble - says center Michael Fey - it won't, in any way, be as catastrophic as UCLA's collapse last season, when it lost 14 of its final 16 games. ``As a whole, I feel the team is better this year,'' Fey said. ``This year I think we're going to wind up doing good, and just as far as the team, I feel we're different. I feel like our chemistry is better, we know the coaches better. This year as a whole, everything is better.'' Improved chemistry has been a big rallying cry Noun 1. rallying cry - a slogan used to rally support for a cause; "a cry to arms"; "our watchword will be `democracy'" war cry, watchword, battle cry, cry catchword, motto, shibboleth, slogan - a favorite saying of a sect or political group 2. since practice began in mid-October, but depth also is a factor. Although UCLA hasn't yet had a stand-alone offensive performance, there has been balance. Freshmen 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. 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 and senior 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. paced the Bruins with 14 points apiece in the victory over the Anteaters. Fey was the most effective Bruin, scoring 13 points on just seven field-goal attempts and grabbing a career-high nine rebounds. ``I'm just trying to go out and get every rebound and score when I'm open, (and) play good defense'' Fey said. ``I think if I work hard and get position, I don't think it makes it that tough (to call for the ball). At the same time, you can't demand it every time because it's not going to be there.'' There were some problems with Fey's performance, particularly UCLA's inability to exploit his ability inside in the second half. Fey scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting as the Bruins built a 40-28 halftime lead, but he attempted just two shots in 17 minutes in the second half. ``We've got to get Mike more touches. He didn't have enough touches in the second half,'' Howland said. ``Our offense got stagnant stagnant /stag·nant/ (stag´nant) 1. motionless; not flowing or moving. 2. inactive; not developing or progressing. at times, to where we were making one-on-one moves rather than playing within a teamsphere, like I want.'' Despite maintaining a comfortable lead much of the game, UC Irvine puled within 56-53 with 6:49 to play on back-to-back baskets by Darren Fellsand Jeff Gloger. UCLA began a game-clinching run when Thompson made a wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner to put the Bruins ahead 59-53 with 6:34 left. Brian Morrison followed with his only points, hitting a 3-pointer (he appeared to release the ball after the shot clock expired), and Farmar capped a quick 8-0 spurt spurt Vox populi A surge or abrupt ↑ in the size or speed of a thing. See Fat spurt, Growth spurt. with a layin off a steal. ``I feel we're playing a lot better,'' said Shipp, who scored nine points in 10 minutes. ``Defensive-wise, we're getting better each game. We got outrebounded (38 to 34), so that's what we're going to work on in practice.'' Brian Dohn, (818) 713-3607 brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: UCLA's Jordan Farmar dribbles by Aaron Fitzgerald in the Bruins' victory Saturday over UC Irvine. Farmar shared the team lead with 14 points. Edna T. Simpson/Daily News |
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