PHOENIX “”mdash; Ben Howland didn’t have to say much to his players in the locker room at halftime to remind them of their second half letdown in the Sweet 16.
The Bruins knew exactly what they would have to do once they took the floor again in order to avoid what had happened just two days earlier against Western Kentucky.
“We knew we would have to jump on them early and let them know that they’re not coming back,” sophomore forward James Keefe said.
“We didn’t want that to happen today,” junior forward Alfred Aboya added. “We were focused on all 40 minutes.”
Leading by a 33-24 margin at the beginning of the half, the Bruins were quick to jump on top of the Musketeers, wasting no time in taking a 20-point lead within five minutes of play.
But just as in the Bruins’ previous tournament game against the Hilltoppers, things began to take a slight turn as UCLA committed a few touch fouls after a very physical first half, and Xavier was shooting 1-and-1 at the 13 minute mark.
As the game began to slow down and time was slow to wind off the clock, Howland stressed to his team the need to stop fouling to keep the Musketeers off the free-throw line.
“After every timeout, after every basket and on every defensive stand, coach was yelling not to foul,” Keefe said. “He just drilled it into our heads.”
The Musketeers had cut the lead to just 12 midway through the half after going on an 11-2 run that was eerily reminiscent of the one made by Western Kentucky.
The thought of Thursday’s game never crossed sophomore guard Russell Westbrook’s mind, and it was his 3-pointer with the shot clock running down that helped erase the thought from the minds of all those watching as UCLA went ahead 60-43.
“When we’re up and people are coming back, I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Our team is too competitive and experienced to give up. We just have a lot of confidence.”
BURRELL’S VOCAL BARRAGE: Starting in the pregame warm-ups, Xavier senior Stanley Burrell began running his mouth, initially in an attempt to fire up his teammates as they ran through drills.
Burrell then went on to taunt Ryan Harris, a member of the UCLA cheer squad, who was waving a UCLA flag at half-court after the Bruins had run onto the court. Harris maintained his ground until the UCLA band had finished the song.
Burrell didn’t stop there. He yapped at Darren Collison during the first half before being taken to the ground by Kevin Love on a screen.
“I didn’t pay attention to it,” Collison said. “It’s not about individual performances, it’s about the team, and today we came out and played great. I don’t let those things get to me.”
ALL-REGIONAL TEAM: Three UCLA players made the 2008 West Region All-Tournament Team, with Love headlining the trio as the region’s most outstanding player.
Bruin guards Collison and Westbrook also made the team, along with Xavier’s Josh Duncan and Western Kentucky’s Tyrone Brazelton.