SACRAMENTO “”mdash; On Friday afternoon, Indiana forward D.J. White proclaimed that every double team he had faced this season was the same.
Only 30 minutes later, Lorenzo Mata and Alfred Aboya promised the media that White was going to see a double team like he had never faced before on Saturday.
It turned out that Mata and Aboya were right.
In a defensive slugfest where Mata and Aboya were in foul trouble throughout, the two big men, along with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, had a valiant effort against the Hoosiers’ big man White.
“Doubling him was the game plan the entire game,” Mata said. “We weren’t going to give him anything easy. He was going to earn every shot he took.
“It worked for us pretty well.”
Although White made a solid effort with 12 points and 14 rebounds, the Hoosiers’ star forward did not have the spectacular performance his team was hoping for.
Mbah a Moute and Mata, in fact, were able to stay even with the Hoosiers’ big man, combining for 15 points and 20 rebounds.
Most importantly, both players, especially Mbah a Moute, were able to make the key plays down the stretch.
“It was a tough game,” Mbah a Moute said. “I am just happy that we made the plays at the end.”
“That’s when (our) experience comes in handy.”
Mbah a Moute’s key plays came with 38 seconds left, when he deflected a pass by Lance Stemler, and three seconds later, when he denied the ball to cause a steal that eventually sealed the game for the Bruins.
It was not the first time that Mbah a Moute had made such a critical play.
“This is the third time now he has done this,” Howland said of Mbah a Moute’s deflection. “And he did it all on his own.
“That was the biggest play of the game.”
A year ago, Mbah a Moute became famous for his clutch plays during the tournament, and Saturday was no different.
With the Bruins struggling through a rugged first half, Mbah a Moute grabbed four offensive rebounds and kept many Bruin possessions alive.
Even more remarkable were his three steals that led to easy Bruin baskets. The Bruins had 12 points off turnovers in a game where both teams combined for barely over 100 points.
“We are a defensive team, and we feed off of turnovers,” Aboya said. “That was the game plan, and it worked out for us.”
Mata, meanwhile, held his own for much of Saturday against White, who is expected to be an NBA player.
Despite playing with four fouls for much of the second half, Mata hit a baby hook shot that put the Bruins up 10 with eight minutes left and he did not foul out.
“I just kept my composure, they were calling fouls on everybody,” Mata said. “We knew it was going to be a defensive battle, and both teams were going to earn all their points.”
Mbah a Moute, Aboya and Mata now have the unenviable task of guarding center Aaron Gray and the Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday night.
If that game is even close to as physical as Saturday’s was, the Bruins will be ready.
“It’s going to be physical, but that’s the way UCLA likes to play,” Aboya said. “We have big guys that like to play inside, so it should be fun.”
PAC-10 OUT: With Washington State’s heartbreaking 78-74 double-overtime loss on Saturday, three of the Pac-10’s six teams have now been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.
Washington State had a chance to win the game in regulation, but forward Daven Harmeling missed an open 3-pointer with two seconds left that sent the game into overtime.
In the second overtime, guard Taylor Rochestie missed a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left and the Cougars down two.
From there, Vanderbilt grabbed the rebound and drove down the court for a dunk, sealing the win for the Commodores.
DRAGOVIC OUT: Freshman Nikola Dragovic did not dress for Saturday’s game against the Hoosiers. Dragovic played four minutes against Weber State on Thursday in the Bruins’ first-round game. A UCLA official said that Dragovic was sick and was told to go home on Friday.