Reserves finish off Beavers
By Robert Faturechi
Feb. 21, 2008 10:27 p.m.
Teams that have gone hungry for a win too long can sometimes lash out and catch an opponent off guard.
That wasn’t the case Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion: The No. 6 UCLA men’s basketball team (23-3, 11-2 Pac-10) routed Oregon State (6-20, 0-14 Pac-10) 84-49, serving the conference bottom feeders their 16th straight loss.
The Bruins ““ now a full game ahead of No. 9 Stanford in the race for Pac-10 supremacy ““ took control of the game early on, stretching the lead to 22 at the half.
Guard Russell Westbrook led the team in scoring with 17 points, while center Kevin Love pitched in with 11 points and nine rebounds, all in the first half.
Westbrook, one of the team’s most aggressive defenders, also shut down Oregon State guard Lathen Wallace, who lit up the Bruins for 18 points in their first meeting. Wallace scored just four points on 1-of-6 shooting this time.
The Bruins’ lead only grew in the second half, allowing coach Ben Howland enough of a cushion to rest his starters.
“Definitely it’s good getting rest, especially coming down the stretch; you want to limit your minutes,” said guard Darren Collison, who finished just short of a double-double with 14 points and nine assists.
Though the game’s outcome was never really in doubt, the Bruins ““ who have been grappling of late with their defensive intensity ““ at times appeared listless.
With tournament play just around the corner, lapses in focus could prove fatal.
“There were a couple of times when we lost focus. … We can’t have that,” Collison said. “It can hurt us in the long run.”
The crowd at Pauley got a serious scare late in the first half when Love was fouled hard in the post and landed awkwardly on his side. The freshman big man lingered on the hardwood until a team manager helped him up, then towel-dried the small puddle of sweat left behind.
Love walked it off, but the freshman was less effective in the latter portion of the game. He had no points or rebounds in the nine minutes he played in the second half.
Guard Josh Shipp’s cold streak from long range also rumbled on, as Shipp shot 0-4 from beyond the arc. He has now missed 19 straight 3-pointers, and his last made 3-pointer came against Arizona State on Jan. 31.
After the game, Howland was asked about the veteran guard’s shooting woes. His response was curt.
“Josh will be fine,” Howland said.
After an unusually bad showing from the free-throw line last Sunday against USC ““ the Bruins went 12-for-21 from the foul line against the Trojans ““ the Bruins returned to form against the Beavers, draining 15 of 19.
Collison knew it would be a good night from the line early on.
“Lorenzo (Mata-Real) made one, so that’s always a good sign,” Collison said, getting a laugh out of the senior center at the postgame press conference.
Howland ““ usually more reluctant than most coaches to go to his bench, even in blow-outs ““ had all of his starters out of the game with seven minutes left to play.
Reserve guard Matt Lee, a fan favorite at Pauley, beamed a perfect alley-oop pass to reserve Chace Stanback, bringing the mellower-than-normal crowd to its feet.
“It was nice to get some of our reserves some time and opportunities to play tonight,” Howland said.
The Bruins’ win Thursday was likely easier than any of their remaining games this season will be. With a number of Pac-10 teams on the bubble for NCAA Tournament play and just a few games left in the conference season, UCLA can expect upcoming opponents to come out hungry to knock the Bruins from their current spot atop the conference totem pole.
