[Online Exclusive]: Mbah a Moute makes his mark on first tournament game
By Seth Fast Glass
March 15, 2006 9:00 p.m.
SAN DIEGO “”mdash; Sitting in the press room of the J.D. Morgan
Center during Selection Sunday, UCLA’s Luc Richard Mbah a
Moute said he wasn’t nervous at all awaiting the
Bruins’ name to be called. He didn’t look too nervous
playing in his first NCAA Tournament game, either. The freshman
forward led UCLA (28-6) in three statistical categories (points,
rebounds and assists), established two new career highs, and left
one indelible mark on his first trip to the Big Dance. “I
wouldn’t say I was nervous,” said Mbah a Moute, who
finished with career-highs of 17 points and six assists, while also
snatching eight rebounds and recording three steals. “I think
I played pretty well, I guess.” His coach wasn’t as
modest. “Luc’s line was a pretty incredible
line,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. While most of the Bruins
admitted they felt some jitters in the opening minutes of
Thursday’s game ““ perhaps one reason they found
themselves down by six points in the first half ““ Mbah a
Moute felt no such butterflies. When the freshman wasn’t
scoring some of his game-high 17 points, he was cleaning up the
defensive glass. When he wasn’t on the boards, he was setting
up centers Lorenzo Mata and Ryan Hollins for easy dunks in the
paint. And when he wasn’t dishing the ball off, he was
picking the Belmont Bruins’ pockets. “He’s really
playing above his years,” Hollins said. So is Darren
Collison. The UCLA freshman point guard finished with 10 points and
two assists, teaming up with Mbah a Moute to spark a backbreaking
23-5 run to end the first half. While such performances for
freshmen in their first NCAA Tournament game may be surprising,
Howland was anything but surprised. “They’ve already
been in a lot of big games this year,” Howland said.
“(Luc’s) a great competitor, and he’s a tough
kid. Collison was also key for us when we took the lead.”
Once the Bruins did, they didn’t stop, pushing their lead to
up to 36 points in the second half. But running the score up on
Belmont may have masked one of the more impressive freshman
performances during the first day of the NCAA Tournament.
“Did (Luc) really lead us in points, rebounds and
assists?” senior Cedric Bozeman said. “Wow. I
can’t recall the last time a freshman did that.”
BOMB SCARE: Cox Arena was evacuated prior to
the Marquette-Alabama game after a bomb-sniffing dog detected an
unidentified substance near a hot dog concession cart. Bruin
players and coaches were still at the team hotel when the
evacuation occurred. At the arena, all personnel were evacuated as
police brought in more bomb-sniffing dogs and bomb squad robots,
where it was determined that the substance was simply residue. The
evacuation delayed the four games taking place at Cox Arena by
nearly an hour each from their scheduled start times. The NCAA
released a statement, saying, “We will continue to remain
vigilant in our security planning throughout our tournament, and
the safety and security of our student-athletes, teams and fans is
paramount.” For many of the Bruins, who were still in their
hotel rooms when the evacuation occurred, it meant both an added
concern and some extra sleep. “We got a little more sleep in,
so that wasn’t bad,” Hollins said. “I was just
hoping it wasn’t a real bomb.”
THE TIDE ROLLS IN: Tenth-seeded Alabama
withstood a second-half run by seventh-seeded Marquette to advance
to Saturday’s sub-regional final against UCLA after its 90-85
victory. Leading by 14 points at halftime, the Crimson Tide ceded
the lead to the Golden Eagles in the second half before snatching
it back in the final seven minutes. Alabama was led in scoring by
senior Jean Felix, who poured in a game-high 31 points and made 8
of 11 shots from behind the arc. The Crimson Tide’s coach,
Mark Gottfried, was an assistant coach at UCLA from 1987 to
1995.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: Seven Belmont fans spelled
the school’s name across their chests. … Belmont’s
Justin Hare airballed a jump shot, while UCLA’s Alfred Aboya
airballed a free throw. … The Bruin yell crew found the crowd
non-responsive to its typical “go Bruins” chant. Yell
crew leader Andrew Green said of the eerie quiet, “UCLA fans
don’t want to yell “˜go Bruins’ because they think
they’re supporting the other team.” Belmont’s
mascot is also the Bruins. … The crowd was particularly
displeased at media timeouts, ferociously booing at each one. …
The UCLA student section broke out a “bring on
‘Bama” chant in the second half. The Bruins face the
Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the
Sweet 16.
DRIBBLERS: Thursday’s game marked the
first this season in which neither Arron Afflalo or Jordan Farmar
scored in double-figures. … Over a stretch of more than 18
minutes that spanned the first and second half, Belmont only scored
10 points. … UCLA’s 34-point margin of victory was its
largest in the NCAA Tournament since the Bruins beat Maryland by 35
points back in 2000.
