SACRAMENTO “”mdash; When things go wrong, play to your strengths.
That was UCLA’s motto on Thursday.
In a game where the Bruins resembled the Final Four team of last season and even the team from earlier this season, No. 2-seeded UCLA played inspiring defense and created multiple Weber State turnovers to turn Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first-round game into a rout, 70-42.
“We are a defensive team at heart,” sophomore guard Darren Collison said. “When we turn turnovers into points, that’s when we are our best.”
The performance against the No. 15-seeded Wildcats (20-12) was much needed for the Bruins (27-5), especially after lackluster showings in their final game of the regular season and their one game in the Pac-10 Tournament.
Earlier this week many players on the team questioned whether the Bruins had competed during their losses, and Thursday’s game certainly showed what the Bruins had been lacking.
The Bruins forced 17 turnovers and shot an impressive 52.6 percent from the 3-point line.
“We feel we didn’t play to our full capabilities the last two games,” junior guard Arron Afflalo said. “It had been a week’s time since we had a victory, so it was good to get on a winning streak.”
The Bruins got their confidence going early on Thursday. After missing their first five shots, the Bruins quickly responded with a 12-0 run in the first half, and built a first half double-digit lead.
Afflalo was the catalyst with 15 first-half points, and the Bruins had their first double-digit lead at halftime in over a month.
“I started off slow, but my teammates did a good job of playing with me, and we eventually got it together,” Afflalo said. “We need to continue to have good starts to be successful.”
Much of the Bruins’ lead in the first half was built off defense. The Wildcats had nine first-half turnovers and only shot 26 percent from the field.
The Wildcats’ leading scorer David Patten was held to four first-half points, and Weber State did not make a basket in the last eight minutes.
“We created a lot of turnovers, and we finished on the other end,” sophomore forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute said. “When we are doing that, it’s really hard to stop us.”
The Bruins had a scary moment during the first half when junior center Lorenzo Mata threw up twice behind the Bruins’ bench.
But freshman forward James Keefe was able to come in and give the Bruins some valuable minutes off the bench.
“You never know when your opportunity is going to arise,” Keefe, who finished with four rebounds, said. “It was a NCAA game, so it was a great chance for me.”
With the victory, the Bruins will now face Indiana in the Round of 32 on Saturday.
The Hoosiers defeated Gonzaga 70-57 Thursday night, and feature All-Big Ten performer D.J. White.
Indiana and UCLA are two of the winningest programs in NCAA history.
“They are a great defensive team that pounds it inside to White,” coach Ben Howland said. “They have outstanding shooters, and they are a battle-tested team that has gone through a tough Big Ten conference.”
If the Bruins are to defeat the Hoosiers, they will need similar performances from their top three scorers like they had on Thursday.
Afflalo led the Bruins with 22 points, Collison had 14 points and eight assists, and sophomore forward Josh Shipp had 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
When the three players are playing like they did on Thursday, the game just becomes fun.
“We have so many offensive options that, when Josh (Shipp) and Arron (Afflalo) are on fire, things just become easy for me,” Collison said. “We are a much better team when they are shooting well. It’s just contagious.”
Besides the big three, the Bruins got contributions from sophomore Michael Roll, who had six points on two 3-pointers, and Mata, who finished with seven rebounds.
Together, it was just win No. 1 in the Bruins’ quest to return to the Final Four and bring that elusive 12th national championship banner to Westwood.
“We would like to have games like this that are real easy, but unfortunately, the tournament is not made that way,” Collison said. “We just have to go in, not take possessions off, and continue to play.”
DRIBBLERS: Weber State had beaten heavyweights Michigan State and North Carolina in previous first-round NCAA games, but Thursday’s loss pushed their all-time NCAA Tournament record to 6-15.
Thursday’s attendance at Arco Arena was 16,338.
With UCLA’s victory, the Pac-10 moved to 2-1 in the NCAA Tournament this year.
The arena was half-empty prior to tip-off because all the fans from the earlier games were required to leave the arena, and it took a while for second session fans to come in.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: The Weber State cheering squad yelled “General Patten” when forward David Patten stepped to the free-throw line.
Since his forearm was bleeding, and he got blood on his jersey, Lorenzo Mata had to put on a completely different uniform at halftime.
Weber State’s largest cheer of the second half came when David Patten had a reverse pump dunk with less one minute remaining in the game.
During the end of Indiana’s victory, the Hoosier fan section started chanting “Kelvin Sampson,” the name of Indiana’s coach.