ANAHEIM “”mdash; The level of physicality inside the Honda Center
for the Wooden Classic on Saturday was characteristic of what fans
at the arena usually see. The only difference was that when No. 1
UCLA took on No. 6 Texas A&M at the home of the NHL’s
Mighty Ducks, they weren’t playing on ice and none of the
players were padded or carrying sticks.
“That’s one of the most physical games I can
remember,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
It became apparent from the beginning of the game that the
officiating crew was going to let the big men go at it and that the
guards would struggle to get any dribbling space.
Several Bruins and Aggies found themselves tangled with one
another, sprawled on the floor while scrambling for loose balls,
and going up for every reachable rebound.
In the end, however, it was the Bruins who took advantage of the
aggressive style of play, as the coaching staff of the Aggies were
not prepared to encounter the tough inside presence of junior
Lorenzo Mata and sophomores Alfred Aboya and Ryan Wright on the
defensive end.
SLIDESHOW
Click here for more photos from the men’s basketball game vs. Texas
A&M.
The three centers held Texas A&M’s Antanas
Kavaliauskas to just eight points in 32 minutes, while he had
averaged 13 and 29 points prior to the matchup against the
Bruins.
The game became so physical that at one point Aboya was poked in
the eye as a Texas A&M defender attempted to get the ball from
his hands.
“So far it was the most physical game of the year,”
Aboya said. “And as a result, I got my eye poked.”
Aboya remained on the floor for several minutes on his stomach
as the trainers came to attend to him. After running several tests,
it was determined that his eyelid had been scratched more than his
eyeball, a fortunate break for the center.
He returned to the floor for the second half, but after the game
his vision was still slightly blurry and he felt slightly dizzy,
but said he would be alright.
“I didn’t really watch the game,” Aboya said.
“I was there, but I mean, my eye.”
STEP WRIGHT UP: When Mata fouled out with just
under four minutes left to play, the Bruins were clinging onto a
three-point lead. Howland was forced to turn to third-string center
Ryan Wright in an attempt to shut down the Aggies on defense.
Wright was ready for the challenge and allowed Kavaliauskas just
two points, at a time when the Bruins were ahead by seven points
with just one minute left to play.
“Ryan Wright gave us some critical minutes today off the
bench,” Howland said after the game.
“He came off the bench and played really physical,”
sophomore guard Afflalo said. “He got some big rebounds and
had that put-back and it’s little things like that help us in
the end.”
COLLISON FLURRY: With the score tied at 27 and
22 seconds remaining in the first half, sophomore Darren Collison
nailed a 3-pointer that brought Bruin fans to their feet.
And just as it seemed as though the Bruins would take a
three-point lead into the locker room at the half, Collison ran the
length of the court and hit yet another long-range shot at the
buzzer, giving UCLA a six-point lead and the momentum it needed
going into halftime.
“Those were definitely big baskets,” sophomore guard
Josh Shipp said. “I remember I was right there when he hit
the second one and I hugged him because they were that big to
me.”
But that wasn’t the only point in the game at which
Collison hit big shots, as he sealed the game with 17 seconds left
to play with two free-throws.
BACK TO SCHOOL: After a weekend away from
campus, the Bruins return to Westwood to take finals this week as
Howland credited his team for focusing on such a big game prior to
the 11th week of the quarter.
“Lorenzo Mata was up until 6 a.m. on Friday morning doing
a paper,” Howland said. “These guys have to get back to
studying right now. It’s even harder for them considering
that they have a very important part of their lives peaking and
that is finals week.”