NEW YORK “”mdash; The Bruins needed this win.
One night after a shocking loss to Michigan, UCLA held off a persistent Southern Illinois team to win 77-60 and claim third place in the 2K Sports Classic.
“We needed that,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “This was a grueling trip.”
UCLA (3-1) flew to New York last Tuesday, fell to Michigan late Thursday night, beat Southern Illinois (2-2) early Friday evening, and returned to Los Angeles late Friday.
Their play in that span quelled expectations for a fourth trip to the Final Four ““ at least for now ““ and will likely drop them out of the top-10 rankings.
And it looked like it would get even worse after Southern Illinois pulled within two points just before the end of the first half.
“In the second half we just came out harder,” freshman guard Jrue Holiday said. “We definitely didn’t want to go home with two losses.”
The Bruins played with more urgency and built a substantial lead. They scored 42 points and their defense held Southern Illinois to only 27. A dominant nine-minute stretch to end the game allowed them to open what had been a very close contest.
Senior power forward Alfred Aboya led the way for the Bruins. He played perhaps the best game of his four-year career, finishing with 22 points and eight rebounds.
“He played terrific, he’s just so tough,” Howland said. “He made his foul shots and he kept getting fouled. He did a great job on the boards and he was just really great around the basket.”
Howland added that his excitement was tempered by an injury Aboya sustained in the final minutes against Southern Illinois. He feared that Aboya might have broken his hand after taking a charge with 3:38 remaining in the second half.
Aboya was down for a minute after he fell and did not return to play, but two x-rays on his hand and wrist came back negative. By the time Aboya left, UCLA had all but sealed a victory.
Junior forward Nikola Dragovic hit a huge 3-pointer to give UCLA a 51-48 lead with 10:19 remaining. Senior point guard Darren Collison followed with two 3-pointers of his own to give the Bruins a sudden nine-point lead.
“We played with more patience,” Collison said. “When we play with patience we get a lot of easy shots.”
Collison finished with 17 points and five assists. He made all of his 3-point and free-throw attempts.
The Bruins will likely rely on their guards to score most this season, and Collison’s consistency and Holiday’s learning curve will be crucial factors.
“It hasn’t been difficult, it’s been different,” Holiday said. “I’ve had to get used to it; it goes a lot quicker and faster.”
Holiday scored five of UCLA’s first nine points and said he felt he played aggressively in the first half. He became more a facilitator in the second half and finished with nine points total.
He said this week in New York would help the team, especially its intensity and focus.
“I think it made us stronger,” Holiday said. “We do have a target on our back, and I don’t think we realized that in the first game. Now we’re just going to come out and play harder every single game.”
Senior forward Josh Shipp may have struggled the most of any individual Bruin.
He turned the ball over six times against Michigan on Thursday, committed two offensive fouls and finished with only five points. On Friday against Southern Illinois, he scored only two points in the first half.
He stood in a cramped hallway outside the Bruins locker room after the game as the team rushed to board its plane and fly home.
He spoke calmly and confidently. There was no panic in his voice.
“It’s early,” he said. “The team’s going to regroup. We’re not worried at all.
“We have a long season ahead of us.”