EUGENE, Ore. “”mdash; As students began to file into McArthur
Court about an hour prior to tip-off Thursday, some of their first
verbal jabs were directed toward UCLA’s Luc Richard Mbah a
Moute.
The Bruin freshman, who earlier in the week admitted he’d
never heard of “Mac Court” and its reputation for being
one of the toughest places to play in the Pac-10, laughed in
response as the students tried to pronounce his name ““ and
like most everybody else, failed.
Following UCLA’s 56-49 victory over Oregon in which he led
all scorers and rebounders with a career-high 15 points and 10
rebounds, Mbah a Moute earned the parting shot.
Do they know his name now? “I hope so,” Mbah a Moute
said.
If they don’t, they’ll at least have a bevy of
images to remember the Bruin freshman.
He reserved what he called his “best game of the
season” for when UCLA needed it most.
Desperate to generate offense and having been pounded by Oregon
on the glass in the first half, the Bruins turned to Mbah a Moute
to jump-start the first and stop the bleeding in the second.
And as he has been all season, he was equal to the task.
“He’s playing great,” sophomore point guard
Jordan Farmar said. “He did it all tonight, like he does
every night.”
But Thursday he mixed in a little offense in his repertoire, to
go along with his usual dominance on the boards.
To begin the second half the freshman took the ball on the low
post and converted a difficult baseline jumper to preserve a
one-point lead. That was one of only three field goals the Bruins
made in a 13-minute, 35-second span in the second half.
Then, with UCLA having finally snatched the lead away from the
Ducks with nearly five minutes left in the game, Mbah a Moute
crashed the offensive glass and put back a missed Arron Afflalo
3-pointer to give the Bruins a three-point lead.
Nearly a minute later on a UCLA fast break, Mbah a Moute filled
the lane and was fouled hard underneath the basket going for a
layup. He shook off both Oregon’s Jordan Kent’s hand
offering to help him up, as well as the pressure of a raucous
opposing crowd, draining both free throws and giving the Bruins the
last bit of breathing room they would need.
“We’re getting accustomed to seeing him get good
numbers,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “It was a great
performance.”
Following Thursday’s game, the Bruin freshman is averaging
9.0 rebounds a game and is on pace to average more rebounds in a
season than anyone in a UCLA uniform since Trevor Wilson averaged
9.1 in 1991.
“I really don’t know what the secret (to my success
rebounding is.) I just try to go hard every time. That seems to be
enough,” Mbah a Moute said.
“But (this) was my best game. I’m pretty happy with
the way I played.”