SOUTH BEND, Ind. “”mdash; After saying all week that they
didn’t want to go to South Bend, the Bruins are now glad they
went.
“It’s great that we got a win,” said senior
Dijon Thompson after UCLA’s 75-65 win over Notre Dame at the
Joyce Center on Sunday. “Now, we need to go home. We
can’t get stuck here.”
Already weary of traveling, UCLA players and coaches
acknowledged that they had preferred not to fly across the country,
to a cold-weather state, to play a non-conference road game this
late in the season.
And though the air outside was frightfully chilly for Southern
California natives, the Bruins could warm themselves with the
knowledge that they took a big step toward their goal of making it
to the big dance.
With the game televised nationally, UCLA felt that it made a
strong statement to the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Behind
torrid shooting from beyond the arc and suffocating perimeter
defense, the Bruins played dominant stretches of basketball, taking
their largest lead at 59-39 midway through the second half. Only
shaky free-throw shooting kept the final margin as close as it
was.
“Ninety percent of America had a chance to see us
play,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “This was a huge
win for us, on the road against a team with a high RPI late in the
year. Big time.”
Still, that didn’t mean UCLA wanted to stick around to
savor its victory.
“It’s really cold, in the middle of nowhere. South
Bend isn’t the kind of place you want to go to,”
Thompson said. “I don’t think I ever want to come back
here again.”
Recalling last season’s embarrassingly disastrous road
loss to St. John’s around the same part of the season last
year, Thompson contrasted this performance with what he called one
of the most embarrassing defeats of his career.
“We took care of business tonight,” he said.
“We were hungry. We didn’t want to come out here for
nothing.”
Ranked only seventh in the Pac-10 in 3-point shooting
percentage, UCLA was locked in from 3-point land all game, meaning
the Bruins didn’t have to worry about another wasted road
trip.
In a shooting exhibition hot enough to melt the snowfall
outside, UCLA nailed a season high 14 of its 23 attempts behind the
3-point line, including four from senior Brian Morrison and three
from freshman Arron Afflalo. Five players made at least two
3-pointers, and not coincidentally five Bruins were in double
figures, led by Afflalo’s 17.
The Bruins led throughout the game, taking a 3-0 lead by virtue
of a long-distance jumper from Thompson. Even when the Fighting
Irish looked as though they were going to cut into the lead, UCLA
was able to respond with a clutch momentum-breaking shot to stifle
the Notre Dame run.
“Every time they went on a run, somebody came down and hit
a three for us,” freshman Josh Shipp said.
UCLA was also tough defensively, especially on the Fighting
Irish’s two leading scorers, guards Chris Thomas and Chris
Quinn. The two combined to shoot only 11-for-36, and as a team
Notre Dame shot under 40 percent.
“This win is a positive (one),” Thompson said.
“It was a big step forward for what we’re trying to
accomplish, making the NCAA Tournament.”