A starter for the UCLA men’s basketball team typically puts in
about 35 minutes a game, but no Bruin saw more than 21 minutes on
the court in their 105-67 defeat of the University of Portland on
Saturday.
The ball was spread quite evenly in the Bruins’ largest margin
of victory since a 105-70 triumph over Maryland three seasons
ago.
"The score is dramatic, but from a coaching standpoint, we’re
making
progress," UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said.
The Bruins (2-2) allowed the Pilots (3-3) one lead in the first
minute of the game, but never gave it up after taking it back. A
four-point lead quickly became an 11-point lead, which eventually
became 20 before the end of the first half.
The score at halftime was 61-32, as shots kept falling for the
Bruins, who finished 56 percent overall from the floor.
"Everyone contributed and everybody was clicking," sophomore
forward Dijon Thompson said following his career- and game-high
23-point performance. "We improve with every practice and we’re
going to try and keep this momentum going." Since a two-game slide,
the Bruins have built a winning streak against teams that can’t
match up in size. Portland had no player taller than
6 feet, 8 inches, and in a win against Long Beach State last
week, no contributing player surpassed 6 feet, 9 inches.
Yet, a win is a win and this defeat was more amazing than some
in the past.
The Bruins exploited their opponent’s weakness in the post, shot
43 percent from behind the three-point line and out-rebounded the
Pilots 61-31.
"Defense helps us on our offense," sophomore guard Ryan Walcott
said.
It certainly kept the lead going. The Pilots shot 25 percent
overall and they couldn’t control anything.
"UCLA played extremely well tonight, from what I saw," Pilots
head coach Michael Holton said. "We played Oregon and UCLA played
us better than Oregon did and they beat us by 40."
Holton played basketball at UCLA and was a former assistant to
Lavin, but his homecoming was not charming. More than one third of
his team’s points came from the free throw line.
Sophomore forward Andre Patterson, who was not supposed to play
Saturday after he was declared academically eligible for the
season, actually
played – once the Bruins were up 38 points.
"It was ideal for Andre to come in, but he probably would not
have come in otherwise," Lavin said after the game.
Patterson spent the past semester at Santa Monica City College,
and has since met the academic conditions for readmission to
UCLA.
His return was welcomed by loud cheering and he put together a
seven-minute presentation. Less than a minute into it, he got his
first of two blocks, sending the ball into the alumni section
behind the basket.
He stole the ball twice and received an alley-oop pass from
sophomore guard Janou Rubin. But it didn’t matter because the
Bruins were so far ahead.
With Patterson’s return, UCLA awaits only the arrival of
freshman football player Marcedes Lewis to complete the squad. But
as long as wins pile up, the team will be happy.
With four and half minutes left, the Bruins were up 99-56 and
players
sitting on the deepest and warmest parts of the bench came in.
Even the third team got to play, and it was all smiles in the
locker room afterward.
"Everyone did something great tonight," junior forward T.J.
Cummings said.
"I’ll be able to sleep well tonight."