Subpar guard play dooms UCLA basketball against USC
Freshman guard Aaron Holiday was one bright spark in UCLA’s performance against USC Wednesday, but it wasn’t enough to light a fire under his teammates. (Miriam Bribiesca/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Claire Fahy
Jan. 14, 2016 2:17 a.m.
As UCLA’s guard play goes, so goes UCLA. That fact is becoming increasingly evident five games into the Bruins’ Pac-12 schedule.
Against Arizona State and Arizona last weekend, junior guards Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton laid a solid foundation for the offense as UCLA walked away with two wins. On Wednesday night, Alford and Hamilton could barely hit a shot, combining to shoot 30.7 percent from the field with only four made baskets apiece as UCLA lost to USC.
Compounding the Bruins’ offensive woes was the team’s inability to get stops on defense, allowing the Trojans to score 89 points en route to a 89-75 win. USC forward Chimezie Metu and guard Jordan McLaughlin lit up Pauley Pavilion for 21 and 23 points, respectively.
“We’re 18 games in and we’re not guarding anyone,” said coach Steve Alford. “We have to find combinations that will defend.”
While his fellow guards struggled, however, freshman Aaron Holiday tried to keep UCLA in the game on both ends of the floor. The rookie scored 11 points on 44 percent shooting, including two big 3-pointers in the second half – one straight out of halftime and the other to cut the Trojans’ lead to 12 with 14:44 remaining.
On defense, Holiday made his presence felt. When the freshman was subbed out with 10:36 left before halftime, the Bruins trailed by four points. By the time Holiday got back into the game two minutes later, the lead had stretched to seven. Holiday subbed out again with USC’s lead at 10 points with 6:41 to go in the first half. By halftime, UCLA trailed by 18.
“They shoot the ball well,” said senior forward/center Tony Parker. “When Aaron got out, it dropped defensively so we gotta find a way to guard long periods of time especially when our shots aren’t falling.”
Holiday has been solid so far this season, averaging 10.7 points a game to go with 3.8 assists. While he added a spark to the Bruins’ game on Wednesday, it wasn’t enough to overcome the rest of UCLA’s play.
The team as a whole shot 44 percent from the field but only 60 percent from the free-throw line, where the Trojans outscored the Bruins 18-9. UCLA couldn’t find any answers off the bench, either, getting only two points from non-starters while USC received 32 from its bench.
“We just have to bring more fire, more passion,” said sophomore center Thomas Welsh. “We have to bring that intensity every night and right now, we’re not doing that.”
UCLA falls to 2-3 on the season as the Bruins prepare to hit the road for a five-day Oregon road trip, on which the team will face two more contenders for the Pac-12 title.
