The Bruins’ offense looked as if it didn’t have a
purpose. They looked stagnant. The perimeter passing wasn’t
going anywhere. Their shots weren’t falling. Their
penetration nonexistent.
But that was the first half.
After trailing by six heading into the second half, the Bruins
poured in baskets from all over the floor.
Their offense had fluidity.
At one point, UCLA poured in 20 unanswered points as it coasted
to a victory over Oregon State, 78-60, on Thursday.
“What a great second half. I can’t wait to watch
that again,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
Coming into the contest, No. 19 UCLA (21-6, 11-4 Pac-10) had
dropped two straight games, which was the first time that has
happened this season.
With California winning over Washington State earlier Thursday,
UCLA knew how important this game was to stay tied with the Bears
in the Pac-10 with just three regular-season games remaining.
“We needed this one bad,” Howland said.
“I’m always worried,” said UCLA guard Arron
Afflalo on how tight the conference race is unfolding. “We
blew our opportunity when we lost to USC and Washington to really
put ourselves ahead in the Pac-10. Every game matters.”
UCLA played its best second half of basketball this season.
A miss was a rarity. The Bruins shot 75 percent from the field
for 52 points in the second half. It was the most points for UCLA
in any half this season. But what counted the most was UCLA’s
ability to add another dimension to their game.
They ran the floor. They pushed the ball up-court. They kept
moving. They fast-breaked. They weren’t stagnant on
offense.
“It’s about repetition and about (Howland) being
comfortable with us doing it,” Afflalo said. “I think
this was a positive step for us tonight, seeing that we can play
that type of basketball.
“Rarely do you see UCLA in past times score 50-plus points
in a half. That’s Washington-type numbers.”
Once again the backcourt of Farmar and Afflalo led the Bruins.
The duo scored 17 of the Bruins’ first 20 points in the
second half. After making just one 3-pointer on seven attempts in
the first half, the Bruins sank nine from beyond the arc in the
second half.
Farmar had a game-high 21 points, and Afflalo followed suit with
20.
“That’s the most fun I had playing as a Bruin in a
long time,” Afflalo said.
To open up the second half, UCLA traded 3-pointers with Oregon
State (11-16, 4-12). Six threes were connected on between both
teams. Up and down they went.
The offensive explosion, however, wasn’t the reason why
the Bruins pulled away, according to Farmar.
“It was our defense,” said Farmar, whose Bruins held
Oregon State scoreless for over seven minutes in the second half.
“When we start playing defense, start getting turnovers,
creating baskets off the defense that’s when we start
separating ourselves.”
It was a tale of two halves for the Bruins.
The Beavers had runs of eight and 10 in the first half. They
shot 48.3 percent from the field, behind forward Nick
DeWitz’s 11 points in the first half on 5-for-9 shooting.
UCLA trailed by 10 points with 6:20 left.
What kept the Bruins in the game was the frontcourt’s
ability to crash the boards. Second-chance points kept UCLA in the
game. Freshman forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute snagged an
offensive rebound and had a putback. Freshman center Alfred Aboya,
who was doubtful for today’s game because of a strained left
hip flexor, did the same. Three of the UCLA’s first six field
goals were off putbacks from offensive rebounds.
Down the stretch, the Bruins didn’t want to see a letdown.
They were looking to rebound and they did.
“We looked at each other and just said, “˜We’ve
been really underachieving and not playing up to our
potential,'” Farmar said. “We didn’t want
to go out like that. Everything was in our hands and we got it
done.”