EUGENE, Ore. “”mdash; Buried in Oregon’s press release,
handed out before Thursday’s game, was the contrived stat
that Duck sophomore Malik Hairston scores 71 percent of his points
in the second half. On Thursday, UCLA defenders dwindled that
number to as low a percentage as they possibly could ““ zero.
In their 56-49 victory over the Ducks at McArthur Court, the Bruins
smothered Hairston, holding him to a season-low six points, all of
which came in the first half. The Oregon sophomore had only been
held to single-digits one other time before Thursday’s game.
Though the credit belonged to Arron Afflalo, Luc Richard Mbah a
Moute, and Michael Roll, all of whom had the dubious task of
containing the Ducks’ leading scorer, it was Afflalo who was
particularly pleased with the defensive effort after the victory.
“That’s great that he didn’t score (in the second
half),” Afflalo said. “That means I did my job
tonight.” After UCLA’s 60-56 loss to West Virginia, the
Bruin sophomore was particularly displeased that he let Mountaineer
Mike Gansey put on an offensive clinic at Pauley Pavilion. On
Thursday, he helped neutralize Oregon’s most prolific
offensive threat, and as a result the Ducks had nowhere to turn to
put the ball in the basket. Oregon only made one field goal in the
last 12:18, as the Ducks were led in scoring by Brandon Lincoln,
who barely cracked double-digits with 10 points. “Personally,
I am happy about my defensive effort,” Afflalo said. The same
cannot be said for his offense. The Bruin sophomore forced several
opportunities in the first half and once again struggled from the
field, shooting 3-for-10 from the floor. Hairston, who was matched
up against Afflalo in the first half, seemed to be taking pleasure
in the Bruin’s frustration. “Before, games were just
coming to me,” said Afflalo, who committed three first-half
turnovers. “But now it just doesn’t seem that
way.” Still, that couldn’t erase his smile coming out
of the locker room after Thursday’s game. His defense had
helped secure the Bruin victory, and all of Hairston’s
trash-talking came to nothing. “He likes to talk, and I knew
he really wanted to beat us,” said Afflalo, grinning.
“But now he’s 0-3 against us.”
SENIOR PRESENCE: Howland was quick to note after
Thursday’s game that one of the keys to victory was the play
of seniors Cedric Bozeman and Ryan Hollins. After missing the
previous eight games with torn cartilage in his left shoulder,
Bozeman returned to the court, scoring three points and grabbing
two rebounds in 18 minutes. Meanwhile, Hollins, who started at
center on Thursday, scored five points and had a season-high four
blocks in only 18 minutes. “Their minutes were invaluable
tonight,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
QUITTERS: The Bruins might not have been offended if they had
been called quitters on Thursday. Outside the UCLA locker room was
a sign that read “Losers quit when they are tired, but
winners quit when they have won.”
DRIBBLERS: Freshman Ryan Wright started the second half after
senior Ryan Hollins picked up three fouls in the first half. …
UCLA is alone atop the Pac-10 standings after Washington lost to
Cal on Thursday. … The Bruins haven’t won consecutive games
at McArthur Court since they did so in 1997-1998 and 1998-1999. …
The attendance was 9,087, a sold out crowd.