INDIANAPOLIS “”mdash; With 27 seconds left in the game, Steve
Lavin conceded defeat with a lineup of Janou Rubin, Gene Barnes,
John Hoffart, Quinn Hawking, and Ryan Hollins to suffer through the
final buzzer.
But it was clear much earlier that winning was a hopeless cause
for the Bruins.
UCLA (0-2) continued its early season losing streak on Saturday,
losing to No. 4 Duke 84-73 after getting outplayed and outclassed
before a sold out Conseco Fieldhouse at the John Wooden
Tradition.
The Bruins started out the game on a 12-2 run, with forward
Dijon Thompson scoring 10 of the 12 points.
“Our starters did a nice job of coming out and spotting us
a lead,” Lavin said.
But after a Duke timeout, the Bruins quickly faded and never
recovered.
The Blue Devils put together separate runs of 13-0 and 11-0
during the game, and had five players who scored in double
figures.
“Duke played a great game,” said center T.J.
Cummings. “Give them credit.”
Throughout the game, the Bruins were plagued by the same
problems that nagged them in their season opener against San Diego
and their exhibition games against Branch West and EA Sports.
Defensively, a lack of presence in the low post allowed Duke to
outscore UCLA 42-22 in the paint. Cummings, who finished with just
four points, was a non-factor on both ends of the floor, and
freshmen centers Michael Fey and Ryan Hollins were both too
inexperienced to have a major impact.
“Collectively we have to be together in the paint,”
said senior guard Ray Young. “We need to help the big fellows
out, because the freshmen are young and T.J. is
undersized.”
Forward Jason Kapono agreed. After the game, he vented his
frustration at his team’s lack of defensive prowess.
“They got layups and were driving in the paint, and we
need to find a way to stop that,” he said.
Offensively, the Bruins only managed three fast break points,
compared to 20 for Duke. Aside from Thompson’s early run,
UCLA rushed shots and no one was able to sustain a hot shooting
hand for any extended length of time.
“We have a problem of being patient,” said Kapono,
who led the Bruins with 19 points. “This was just like in the
first game. We got a lead and then started shooting quicker and not
sticking to the game plan.”
But credit also needs to be given to Duke (3-0), which combined
cohesive play with intensity and sound basketball to show why it is
one of the top teams in the country.
The Blue Devils shot 54.2 percent from the field, compared with
just 43.1 percent for UCLA. Duke hit nine three-pointers, five
coming from freshman guard J.J. Redick, who finished with 20
points.
The team also had 17 assists and just 12 turnovers, whereas UCLA
had more turnovers (14) than assists (11).
“We’re disappointed,” said Fey. “We came
all the way out here and thought we had a good chance to
win.”
The Bruins’ losing streak is in danger of sliding into an
abyss if they don’t win soon. The players’ frustration
with their lack of sustained intensity is showing.
“We’ll get a win soon,” Bozeman said with a
glassy stare. “We need a win.”
Game Notes: T.J. Cummings and Ray Young were pulled from the
starting lineup after being late for a film session Friday night.
Cummings said he was late because he had to use the restroom after
eating at a steakhouse for dinner, and Young said he thought
Indianapolis was on Central Time rather than Eastern … Young
bruised his hip pointer after falling in the first half. He will
rest the next couple of days and hopes to return to practice by
Wednesday.