SPARTANS TEACH BRUINS A LESSON OFFENSE LAGS IN UCLA LOSS MICHIGAN ST. 76, UCLA 64.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer EAST LANSING East Lansing, city (1990 pop. 50,677), Ingham co., S central Mich., a suburb of Lansing, on the Red Cedar River; inc. 1907. The city was first known as College Park, but was renamed when it was incorporated. , Mich. - UCLA's kids took part in their first overnight sleepover and though the young Bruins adapted fairly well, they showed their age against some older kids Tuesday night. In its first road game of the season, against a traditional top-25 power, 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 and its four freshman starters hung tough for a while but couldn't overcome their offensive struggles in a 76-64 loss to No. 23 Michigan State in front of 14,759 at the Breslin Center. ``It's a learning experience,'' 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. ``They'll get better. We played a very good team. (Michigan State) is very disciplined and very well-coached. It was more about their team than anything. ... It's a tough game to come into their place and play well.'' The Bruins (6-2) shot 34.4 percent in the first half as they fell behind by 10 points at halftime and couldn't recover. Even against what essentially was a Michigan State four-guard offense, UCLA couldn't manage much of a traditional inside game, and its offense degenerated into a series of 3-point shots. Of UCLA's 57 shots from the field, 27 were from 3-point range, and, at one point, the Bruins had scored on 10 3-point shots and eight two-point shots. The Bruins tried to establish an inside game early but seemed to abandon any hope of dominating the post in the second half. ``They were a good defensive help team,'' UCLA guard 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 said. ``We tried to penetrate, but they closed it down and forced some turnovers. We have to give (post players) Michael Fey and 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. a chance, and they need to demand the ball and get it and get other people involved.'' Fey didn't start because he missed a team bus Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
``Those guys need to step up,'' Howland said. Michigan State (7-2) started the second half with a 10-point run for a 52-32 lead. The Bruins hung tough mostly because of the efforts of Afflalo, a freshman who made only 1 of 6 shots in the first half but made all five in the second half, when he scored 15 of his 16 points. Josh Shipp Josh Shipp (born 23 January in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is an American motivational speaker and author focusing on youth and college-aged audiences. He is noted as being one of the youngest speakers ever accepted into the National Speakers Association. , another freshman, matched Michigan State's heralded center Paul Davis Paul Davis may refer to:
The Spartans (7-2) did nothing particularly special. They shot 44.8 percent and, like UCLA, took a lot of 3-pointers (20). Davis was neutralized for much of the game and pulled down only seven rebounds, but he did a good job of kicking the ball out, and the Spartans made 5 of 11 3- point shots in the second half. Chris Hill, with 15 points, was the only other Spartan to score in double figures. Hill's back-to-back 3-pointers in the first minute of the second half enabled the Spartans to pull away. ``We played good,'' Michigan State coach Tom Izzo Tom Izzo (born January 30, 1955 in Iron Mountain, Michigan) is the men's basketball coach for Michigan State University. Under Izzo, the program has been one of the most successful in the country, having won a national championship in 2000 and sent many players to the NBA. said. ``We didn't play great, but we did enough to win against a good team. I think UCLA is going to end up winning a lot of games.'' The best thing Michigan State did was run. Howland repeatedly urged the Bruins to push the ball on offense, but that style seemed to suit the Spartans quite nicely, as their transition defense created chances. In the first half, UCLA turned the ball over nine times, which led to 14 points for Michigan State. 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. , UCLA's freshman point guard, had it tough against Michigan State's guard-heavy attack and turned in his worst offensive game so far. Farmer made only 2 of 12 shots for seven points, tied a season-low with four assists and was one of four Bruins to commit at least three turnovers. Despite all that, the Bruins stayed close in the first half. They trailed by eight late in the half after Shipp's 3-point attempt rattled out. Michigan State's Matt Trannon Matt Trannon (born July 7 1983, in Flint, Michigan) an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was originally signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Michigan State. grabbed the rebound, was fouled by Thompson and made two free throws, a five-point swing that put the Spartans up 10 points. ``This is probably one of the toughest places we will play in this year,'' Afflalo said, ``and I think we did pretty well.'' Rich Hammond, (818) 713-3611 rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) UCLA's Lorenzo Mata, left, gets in the way of Maurice Ager's alley-oop dunk try in Michigan State's victory. (2) UCLA's Dijon Thompson, center, and Aaron Afflalo (4) reach for a rebound in the Bruins' loss Tuesday to Michigan State. Al Goldis/Associated Press |
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