When UCLA assistant coach Kerry Keating told Lorenzo Mata how
many rebounds he had recorded on Tuesday night as he walked toward
the bench, the junior thought his coach was joking. “I looked
at him again, and I was like, “˜Really? Sixteen?’ I
couldn’t believe it,” Mata explained. But coach Ben
Howland had been waiting for his starting center to reach his
potential and saw him do so in terms of rebounding against Cal
State Fullerton. While having to deal with the tough task of
defending big men who had the ability to play like guards, Mata was
also able to position himself in all the right places to bring down
boards on both the offensive and defensive ends. “He was
absolutely phenomenal on the glass,” Howland said of Mata.
“He goes for it every time. He’s just relentless when
he’s going for the ball.” Mata has slowly been
reintegrated into the Bruin lineup after undergoing knee surgery
prior to the season. As his knee healed, Mata has seen his playing
time increase, and he hopes to make the most of it for his team.
“Every minute I’m out there, every second I’m out
there, I’m going to play hard and do what I do: try to block
shots, get rebounds, score, and hopefully hit my free
throws,” Mata said. Mata’s inability to make free
throws on Tuesday was his only blemish of the game, as he went a
mere 1-for-6 after missing four straight. When Mata made his first
free throw, the crowd showed their support for him with some of
their loudest cheers of the night. As Mata continues to work on his
free throws, shooting over 100 each day after practice, he hopes to
improve his rebounding as well. “I’m just going to keep
going out and try to get a new career high every game,” Mata
said. “Hopefully next game I’m going to try to get 17
rebounds. You never know. My confidence is definitely growing in
every game.”
DORRELL RINGS BELL: During halftime of Tuesday’s victory
over the Titans, the UCLA football team was presented with the
Victory Bell, which goes to the winner of the annual UCLA-USC
football game. As his players stood behind him, football coach Karl
Dorrell rang the bell in Westwood for the first time in eight
years, as the Trojans had dominated the series recently, winning
seven straight contests prior to Saturday’s Bruin victory.
“Seven years was too long for those guys to be beating
us,” UCLA running back Chris Markey said. “I’ve
never even seen the Victory Bell, so it was just a great
memory.” As the fans rose to give the team a standing
ovation, Markey began jumping up and down, expressing his
jubilation, reminiscent of the game itself. “It was very
memorable, and it’ll go down in history,” Markey said
of the game. “ESPN Classic.”
WOODEN CLASSIC: The Bruins now go on to face
No. 6 Texas A&M (7-1) on Saturday at the 13th annual John R.
Wooden Classic in Anaheim. UCLA will be making its fourth
consecutive appearance at the tournament, which will be played at
the Honda Center. “The Wooden Classic is something we always
want to be involved in,” Howland said. “It is a special
opportunity for us to be involved in an event that carries the name
of not only the greatest coach but one of the finest human beings
on the planet.” The Aggies, who are coming off a 64-52 loss
to No. 9 LSU, are the highest-ranked team that the Bruins have
faced so far this season. UCLA won’t be overlooking that
fact, as Howland has already warned his team of the Aggies’
potential. “(Texas A&M is) going to be more of a
Pac-10-type team,” junior Arron Afflalo said. “They
have a great outside presence as well as a good inside
presence.”