The worry did not subside for Steve Alford.
Even though the toughest opponent on his schedule – No. 1 Kentucky – had already come and gone, the UCLA coach was still very wary of the next team coming: Long Beach State.
Alford knew that the 49ers (5-5) had top-level experience, playing the 16th-toughest schedule in the country, and that they had a potent offense. Combine that with the distraction of final exams at UCLA, and Alford saw a trap game looming.
“We knew it was going to be hard coming off the Kentucky win, with finals staring us in the face as well,” Alford said. “I was very concerned about this one. … I knew (the 49ers) were gonna be well prepared and well coached.”
Alford’s fear proved prescient. UCLA managed to eke out an 83-76 win, but the victory was not nearly as seamless or efficient as the one over Kentucky.
Regardless of how pretty it looked, Alford will take it. He said it was yet another day of growth for his team, considering the high potential for a let-down performance.
“We have to be a team of growth. And we did grow again – this is the third straight game,” Alford said.
Long Beach State came out firing against UCLA (6-3), making two 3-pointers in the first 65 seconds and taking a 17-11 lead into the first media timeout. The Bruins looked a little lethargic, playing before a half-empty Pauley Pavilion just days after the arena was buzzing and roaring with a near sell-out crowd.
At halftime, the score was 38-37, with Long Beach State ahead.
“That’s something that’s hard for any team. (After) you have a big win like that, (to come back with the same intensity), it’s hard,” said junior guard Bryce Alford.
The second half was a different story. UCLA’s energetic and efficient squad – the one that beat Kentucky Thursday night – came back to life. The Bruins nabbed three steals and four fast break points in the first three minutes of the period, taking a 47-43 lead.
UCLA wouldn’t trail again for the rest of the game.
“We started the second half much better,” Steve Alford said. “We responded to the several punches that they threw at us to start the game. … We settled in and we started to have some balance (from) inside (to) out.”
The interior duo of senior forward/center Tony Parker and sophomore center Thomas Welsh once again played an integral role for the Bruins, tallying 31 points and 20 rebounds.
What was perhaps most important about Parker and Welsh was their ability to create second-chance baskets. In the second half, the pair combined to grab six offensive rebounds, leading to nine second-chance points.
During one stretch, Parker’s offensive rebounding frustrated Long Beach State coach Dan Monson so much that Monson screamed to the officials for an over-the-back foul, which instead led to a technical foul on himself.
“I think we did well,” Parker said. “We missed a couple chippies, but after a while we really got going and we attacked hard and tried to rebound as well as possible.”
It wasn’t as flashy or dominant as the win over Kentucky, but it was a win. Now, the Bruins have six days to rest before facing their third ranked opponent of the year – No. 13 Gonzaga (5-2) – on Saturday.
With that challenge beckoning, Steve Alford’s worries still persist.
“We’ve got to take a break here for finals and then obviously we have a very tough matchup up in Spokane with Gonzaga over the weekend,” Alford said.