LAHAINA, Hawaii “”mdash; The Bruins found out very early in the
season that their inside presence is not going to be the weakness
some thought it would be. Sophomore forward Luc Richard Mbah a
Moute, and junior center Lorenzo Mata dominated the paint against
the Wildcats, helping the Bruins to a 73-68 victory in a game in
which the Bruin perimeter players struggled. “It was a very
hard fought and physical game,” coach Ben Howland said.
“Luc and Lorenzo competed hard inside against a very good
Kentucky team.” In a hyped matchup with the Wildcats’
Randolph Morris, Mata out-muscled the Kentucky center en route to
finishing with a career-high 12 points and 11 rebounds. Mata kept
Morris to two points in the first half, and had many tip-backs on
offensive rebounds. “I knew it was going to be a tough
matchup,” Mata said. “But this is Division I college
basketball. You are going to be going up against talented players
every night.” Mbah a Moute had a team-high 18 points as well
as five rebounds and sealed the game with an emphatic slam in the
waning moments. This came after he scored a career-high 24 points
in the Bruins’ first game against BYU and had a quiet
first-round game against Chaminade. “Luc was easily their
toughest matchup,” Howland said. “He does all the
little things that are not noticed.” The Bruins were
especially fortunate to have both players’ contributions
considering the Bruins’ struggles from beyond the arc. The
Bruins shot 2-19 overall from the three-point line, and the
Bruins’ leading scorer junior guard Arron Afflalo was held to
5-18 shooting. “Thank God I had my teammates tonight,”
Afflalo said. “Our inside guys played great in a very
physical game. “Luc was especially huge on the boards.”
Mata and Mbah a Moute will now have a very tough matchup against
Georgia Tech’s big men in tonight’s championship game.
The Yellow Jackets feature four major contributors who are
6-foot-8-inches or taller.
TURNOVER BATTLE: For the second-straight game, the Bruins were
able to soundly beat their opponents in turnover margin. On
Tuesday, the Bruins caused 17 Wildcat turnovers while only having
eight of their own. “I thought the lack of turnovers was the
difference in the game,” Howland said. “With only a
1-point differential in rebounding, our defensive pressure was
key.” The Bruins’ ability to cause turnovers came
through in the last two minutes as the Bruins got two steals that
eventually led to easy dunks, and essentially sealed the game.
Sophomore point guard Darren Collison was again the leader in
steals for the Bruins with three, and now has nine on the
season.
FOUL TROUBLE: The Bruins, who had a 17-point lead in the first
half, had their lead slip away when their key players got into foul
trouble. Collison committed his third personal foul with 5:18
remaining in the first half and the Bruins leading by 10. When he
returned in the second half with over 17 minutes to go, the
Bruins’ lead had been cut to three. “I was really mad
that I got that third foul,” Collison said. “In the
second half, I made sure I was more attentive that I didn’t
get into foul trouble again.” Mata and Mbah a Moute also had
to sit out chunks of the first half, as they both picked up their
second and third fouls early in the game.
DRIBBLERS: Tuesday was only the 10th meeting between UCLA and
Kentucky. … Maui’s Lahaina Civic Center was overflowing
with Kentucky fans and the ticket office issued special
standing-room only tickets for the game. … The Wildcats were the
only team in the tournament to bring their cheerleaders and mascot
to the Hawaiian Islands. UCLA brought four members of its dance
team.