Junior forward Nikola Dragovic made the first start of his career a memorable one.
Posting a career-high 14 points in 27 minutes, Dragovic was a key part of the Bruins come-from-behind victory Sunday night.
In a span of less than two minutes at the end of the game, Dragovic hit a 3-pointer to put the Bruins up five, hit three free throws and even came down with two clutch rebounds that put UCLA in position to ice the game toward the end.
Coach Ben Howland decided to start Dragovic over James Keefe Sunday morning, citing Dragovic’s ability to shoot from the outside as part his reasoning.
Howland said he was worried that USC would come at the Bruins with a zone defense, which Dragovic, with his shooting touch, would be more suited to play against than the defensive-minded Keefe.
“He played great. It was a good call to start him,” Howland said to laughs after the game.
When he was occasionally left open beyond the 3-point arc, Dragovic punished the Trojans, sinking three treys that kept UCLA in position to win.
Seemingly, one of the reasons that Keefe has typically started over Dragovic is Howland’s philosophy of defense-first. After the game, Howland praised Dragovic on his defensive improvement.
“He’s improved in that area,” Howland said of his forward’s defense on Sunday. “(He) knows that it’s an emphasis here. (Defense) is how you’re going to play more minutes.”
Dragovic sees starting as more motivation to take with him back to practice.
“(Starting) is an extra thing to make me work more, work harder, and I was really excited to play,” Dragovic said.
COLLISON’S STREAK ENDS: Darren Collison’s UCLA record of consecutive free throws made ended early in the second half at 43. He had hit three free throws without a problem in the first half, but he missed his first attempt after halftime with the USC student section behind the basket trying to distract him.
Collison also missed another free throw when the game was already decided with 4 seconds remaining and is now shooting 94 percent on the season at the charity stripe.
The previous UCLA record-holder was Henry Bibby in 1972 who sank 36 straight.
AIRBALL BUT STILL COMFY: After connecting on his first two three-point attempts in the first half, Jrue Holiday attempted a third from the top of the key. It fell far short and wide left, drawing jeers from the crowd.
Despite the “Airball” chants when he touched the ball from then on, Holiday said he was never concerned.
“The ball just slipped out of my hands,” Holiday said. “I was actually really, really comfortable.”
GIBSON’S FOULS AID BRUINS: USC’s key big man Taj Gibson was hit with foul trouble early in the game, accumulating three in the first half. As a result he was forced to sit for much of the first half, which came as a pleasant surprise for the Bruins. UCLA struggled against the shot blocker after the break, allowing him to be a defensive and rebounding presence on the inside.
“It was big that Gibson got in foul trouble,” Howland said “We didn’t plan on that. It wasn’t part of the game plan. It just happened.”
DRIBBLERS: While a pre-game announcement on the jumbotron asked for sportsmanlike behavior by all of the fans, the USC student section chanted obscenities at the Bruins. … UCLA now stands at 3-0 in conference play and is tied with Cal at the top of the conference standings.