BERKELEY “”mdash; Senior guard Michael Roll played the role of hero Wednesday night, and like any noble figure, he was quick to share the glory with fellow teammates following UCLA’s 76-75 upset of California at Haas Pavilion.
Who was the first guy that came to mind? Freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt, who was making his first career start.
“He was huge,” Roll said. “He was all over the place.”
Starting in place of sophomore guard Jerime Anderson, Honeycutt scored just two points but grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.
That statistic alone impressed coach Ben Howland, who decided to start Honeycutt after Anderson was tardy to a rehabilitation appointment earlier in the week.
“I was really happy,” Howland said. “I thought (Honeycutt) did a great job for us.”
Honeycutt played well enough that he is slated to start again on Saturday afternoon at Stanford, Howland added. That’s if sophomore guard Malcolm Lee, who took over at point guard, recovers from the cramping he suffered in overtime.
Team trainers administered an IV to a dehydrated Lee immediately following the game.
“The trainer was telling him to drink more Gatorade at halftime, but (Lee) said “˜I’m bloated, I’m bloated, I can’t,'” Howland said. “This has been an ongoing issue for Malcolm since high school. This is nothing new.”
When Lee left the game due to cramping, Honeycutt came onto the court for one reason and one reason only.
“Honeycutt’s play on the boards was really big for us,” Howland said.
Coming off a 14-point home loss to an athletic Arizona team, the Bruins needed a player that could respond against Cal, tabbed as one of the most athletic teams in the country.
Honeycutt wasn’t fazed coming out of the locker room and casually chewed on the same piece of gum for the entire game.
The 6-foot, 7-inch forward made his presence felt early, grabbing three of his game-high four offensive rebounds in the first few minutes.
On one occasion midway through the second half, Honeycutt easily soared above Cal big man Max Zhang, who stands at 7 feet, 3 inches, to grab a rebound.
“It was bad last week (against Arizona),” Roll said. “We have to battle and that’s what we did.”
THE OTHER GUY: Anderson saw his first action five minutes into the first half and was as aggressive as he’s been all season.
Howland liked it so much that he intends to again bring Anderson off the bench on Saturday against Stanford.
“He still played his minutes,” Howland said.
In 29 minutes, Anderson scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and had four rebounds. He made both of his 3-point attempts.
Perhaps most importantly, Anderson was on the court during the most crucial minutes and had the ball in his hand with time expiring in regulation and overtime.
“That’s what I expect from Jerime,” Roll said. “Cal let him get in the lane and that’s what he has to do.”
SEEDING READS: Make no mistake about it, freshman forward Reeves Nelson was UCLA’s go-to guy late in Wednesday’s game.
Nelson was a force inside, banging against Cal forward Jamal Boykin and shooting a game-high 14 free throws. All the Golden Bears could do was foul him .
“We felt that they couldn’t guard him all that well,” Roll said. “If he makes more foul shots next game we’ll be a lot better.”
DRIBBLERS: The Bruins have now won six consecutive games in Berkeley”¦ Lee set a new career-high with seven assists”¦ Howland improved to 8-5 in overtime games, including 7-4 in Pac-10 play”¦ UCLA chancellor Gene Block sat courtside across from the Bruin bench.