Seniors Josh Shipp and Darren Collison combined for 32 points and the Bruins squeaked past Miami (Ohio) 64-59 on Thursday night in the second round of the 2K Sports Classic.
In their first close game of the season, the Bruins sealed the win with clutch free throws in the final minutes to advance to New York City next week for the final rounds of the tournament.
Howland expected a slow-paced game from the experienced Miami team.
“This was like a NCAA Tournament game,” Collison said. “We played a very good team, make no mistake about it.”
The Bruins front court struggled against the Redhawks with Alfred Aboya and James Keefe combining for nine points and nine rebounds in 54 minutes. But Keefe’s only bucket of the night, a clutch trey as the shot clock expired with 3 minutes left, provided the boost UCLA was looking for.
“James Keefe’s from the corner was a nice prayer,” coach Ben Howland said. “It’s better to be lucky than good, I guess.
“It’s probably good for James that he didn’t have much time to think, just shoot it.”
The Bruins would not score from the floor after that point but the three seniors stepped up when it mattered. Aboya, Collison and Shipp each went two of two from the charity stripe in the final 2:14 to grind out the final possessions.
Miami hit a long 3 with 50 seconds left to cut the lead to 60-59, but the Redhawks would not threaten again.
Senior Miami guard Michael Bramos caused problems for Bruin defenders throughout the night, posting 22 points. Freshman guard Jrue Holiday did not have his best defensive night against Bramos, who Howland described as a “cagey veteran.” After two early fouls, Holiday sat for much of the first half and ended with five points.
“He’ll learn from this and be better for it,” Howland said.
Although the Bruins did out-board Miami 29-21, the front court could not generate any consistent offense. After the game, Howland said he would look towards Aboya and freshmen J’Mison Morgan and Drew Gordon to increase offensive productivity in the low post.
“We’ve got to get an inside presence. That’s something we took for granted a year ago and it’s hard.”
With the inside game struggling, Collison and Shipp took the game into their own hands. Each scored 16 points and hit two free throws in the final 21 seconds.
“I just decided I didn’t want to lose,” Collison said. “There was no way, especially with me, Josh and Alfred being in our senior year, that we were going to lose that game.”
Aboya led the team with six rebounds and has played more than 30 minutes in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, Howland said.
The Bruins will take on Michigan at Madison Square Garden in the semi-final on Thursday and could face Duke in the final on Friday.