BERKELEY “”mdash; After missing UCLA’s last game against No. 17 Arizona, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute appeared to be bothered by his right knee in the opening minutes of the Bruins’ matchup against California.
The sophomore missed his first two shots of the game, but bounced back and contributed to his team in the one way that can always be expected ““ on the glass.
No. 3 UCLA (18-1, 7-1 Pac-10) has come to expect the majority of its rebounds to come from Mbah a Moute, and without him in the game, both sophomore Alfred Aboya and junior Lorenzo Mata have the task of bringing down the boards.
“Those are our primary rebounders and they all did a great job tonight,” junior Arron Afflalo said.
The tandem combined for 27 rebounds, two rebounds more than all the Golden Bears were able to grab collectively. With the Bruins looking to run the ball more on fast breaks this season, getting a quick defensive rebound has been a point of great emphasis, especially with the speed of sophomore Darren Collison running the floor.
“That’s something we’re looking to do every game,” Mata said. “It’s just something that we have to continue to do. When we get the rebound we’re looking for Darren to start the fast break.”
However, UCLA is also using the offensive boards to its advantage for second-chance points. The Bruins’ trio brought down 10 rebounds on their own misses against Cal, which were converted into 15 points.
SCORING WOES: Mbah a Moute struggled again, however, to score for the Bruins, tallying a mere four points in UCLA’s 16-point victory.
Though the sophomore power forward went 2-6 from the field and missed both of his free-throw attempts, UCLA coach Ben Howland is still optimistic that Mbah a Moute will come out of his slump and begin nailing his shots, as he did in a recent practice when he made 140 out of 200 jumpers.
“As we work on his shooting and as he gets into shape again, I guarantee you he’s going to become a great shooter,” Howland said. “Not a good shooter, a great shooter. I’m really excited about it.”
His teammates also have a great deal of faith in him and look to get him the ball so he can continue taking shots in hopes of getting back into some sort of rhythm.
“He shoots really well,” Collison said. “I think he’ll find his touch later in the season.”
BIG ON BOTH ENDS: Afflalo had an explosive second half that propelled the Bruins over Cal on Thursday, scoring an astounding 20 points on 6-8 shooting.
It wasn’t his scoring total that impressed Howland though, but rather his ability to shut down the Bears’ leading scorer, Ayinde Ubaka, holding him to zero points in 35 minutes of play.
DRIBBLERS: Mata was not shocked by any means when he saw Ubaka’s shot misdirected into the bleachers by teammate Aboya late in the second half. The contact with the ball echoed throughout Haas Pavilion and had most Cal fans shocked.
“I’ve seen him do it before so I saw it coming when Ubaka went for the drive,” Mata said. “I think that’s going to be in the Top-10 today.”