EUGENE, Ore. “”mdash; This is was the type of shooting performance UCLA coach Ben Howland thought he would get out of forwards Josh Shipp and Nikola Dragovic.
With two of his best shooters coming into Sunday’s game struggling, shooting roughly 20 percent on the season in 3-point percentage, Howland was glad to see the shooting clinic they helped put on.
Shipp and Dragovic were vitally important in the Bruins’ 83-74 win over the Ducks on Sunday, shooting a combined 8-of-12 from 3-point distance.
Shipp finished with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Dragovic finished with 12 points on 3-of-6 beyond the arc.
“This is how I expect (Dragovic) and Josh to shoot, so this is a good omen for us,” Howland said.
After the game, Howland pointed to one key move by Shipp.
With the Bruins up just 55-52 with 9:29 left in the game, Shipp hit a 3-pointer to move the Bruins ahead 58-52 and stop an Oregon run.
According to Howland, making a play in a big-time situation is what he has come to expect from Shipp.
“He is that type of kid,” Howland said. “He feeds off the energy that will quiet a crowd with a big shot. He’s been doing that since I’ve coached him. He enjoys that. That’s his personality.”
Through all the struggles from last season and into this season, Shipp said his confidence never wavered.
“If you’re a good player, you love those situations,” Shipp said. “I mean when it’s the loudest, you have the most adversity, you see what type of player you are, so I just wanted to go out there, wanted the ball and I was able to knock down the shots today.”
Fellow senior Darren Collison believes that what Shipp and Dragovic displayed on Sunday is to be expected.
“Those guys are one of our better shooters,” Collison said. “When they have it going it makes it easy for me, and it makes it easier for the big guys. You got to give Josh credit because he really played in the second half, and he’s probably one of the reasons we won this game.”
COLLISON SETS SCHOOL RECORD: Collison passed Henry Bibby for most consecutive free throw attempts made on Sunday with 40. Bibby set the previous mark at 36 in 1972.
BRUINS WIN PAC-10 OPENER: The Bruins opened the Pac-10 conference season with a dominant 69-46 victory on the road against Oregon State (6-6, 1-1 Pac-10) Friday night.
Collison and junior forward Michael Roll led the Bruins with 16 points each as UCLA spoiled the Pac-10 opener of Oregon State coach and brother-in-law of President-elect Barack Obama, Craig Robinson.
INJURY REPORT: Freshman guard Malcolm Lee missed his third consecutive game with a left knee injury. Lee had an MRI on Dec. 27 which was inconclusive and will be re-examined today, according to the Los Angeles Times.