ANAHEIM “”mdash; This was not the same UCLA men’s
basketball team that needed to come back in the closing seconds to
sneak by Drexel.
Nor was it the same team that trailed winless Coppin State at
halftime.
This was a Bruin team that finally played close to its potential
for an entire 40 minutes, getting it done with stellar play from
its guards and outstanding defense in a 67-56 victory over No. 17
Nevada in Saturday’s 12th annual John R. Wooden Classic.
“It was a big win against a good team,” point guard
Jordan Farmar said. “Now we know we can do it.”
Prior to Saturday’s victory, the No. 16 Bruins (7-1) had
shown only flashes of their ability in uninspiring wins over such
teams as Delaware State, Albany and Coppin State. But with Farmar
leading the charge against the Wolf Pack, things finally seemed to
come together.
Farmar scored 24 points by shooting 10-for-13, and UCLA held
Nevada (6-1) to a season-low 37.3 percent field-goal percentage,
both of which had Bruin coach Ben Howland smiling after his
team’s most impressive victory of the season.
“This was an outstanding win because we beat a really good
team,” Howland said.
Winner of its last 14 road games, including a victory at Kansas
earlier this month, Nevada appeared to offer some difficult
match-ups for the Bruins, especially with star Nick Fazekas at the
power forward spot.
And while Fazekas, who entered Saturday’s contest
averaging 20.3 points per game, finished with 24, the Bruin defense
was very effective for much of the game.
“UCLA is the best team we’ve played so far,”
Fazekas said. “That’ll probably be the best team we see
all year.”
Whenever the Bruins needed an answer on Saturday, Farmar had it.
The sophomore point guard, who has been suffering the effects of an
ankle injury for much of the season, engineered a 15-2 run in the
first half and a 19-4 run in the second half that put the game
away.
Twenty of Farmar’s 24 total points came during those
runs.
“He’s a terrific point guard,” Nevada coach
Mark Fox said of Farmar. “He took over the game, and that
certainly was the difference.”
With the help of the big first half run, UCLA entered halftime
with a 33-24 lead.
Nearly all of the Bruins’ points came from their guards,
as Arron Afflalo (12), Darren Collison (10) and Farmar (9) combined
to score 31 in the first half.
Fazekas, who saw double teams from the Bruins all night, helped
bring the Wolf Pack within one point with 8:42 to play, but
that’s when Farmar took over.
He had two 3-pointers, a lay-up, a floater in the lane, and a
free throw in the decisive run.
“(Howland) called my number a few times tonight and I was
just looking to be aggressive,” said Farmar, who said his
right ankle is at about 90 percent. “The way they play
defense, I had a lot of opportunities on the pick and
roll.”
Afflalo turned in another solid game for the Bruins,
contributing 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists without
committing one turnover.
He also did a solid job on defense, holding Nevada guard
Marcelus Kemp to 2-for-11 from the field.
“We won today because we did a great job
defensively,” Howland said.
The Bruins won without three contributors from last season.
Sophomore guard Josh Shipp is still out after undergoing hip
surgery, while center Michael Fey and forward Lorenzo Mata were
also in street clothes because of an ankle injury and a concussion,
respectively.
Freshman forward Ryan Wright played a career-high 33 minutes
Saturday, and fellow freshman forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
finished with eight points and nine rebounds. Mbah a Moute has led
the Bruins in rebounding in all eight games.
Saturday, however, was a game for the guards.
Collison was an integral part of the first half run, Afflalo was
his usual self, and Farmar was superb.
“You can really tell that people are starting to
understand it,” Farmar said. “We’re just getting
more fluid in our offense. Everyone is feeling more comfortable;
we’re knocking down shots.
“It was just really happening all week, and we knew we
were going to be ready to play.”