CORVALLIS, Ore. – Defense dominated the conversation surrounding UCLA over the course of the past week. Outside the four walls of Pauley Pavilion, speculation swirled as to whether a team that gave up 86 points in conference play would be able to make a legitimate run come March. Inside the arena, coach Steve Alford subjected his team to grueling two-and-a-half hour practices in order to change the narrative.
It worked.
UCLA’s matchup against Oregon State was expected to be a tale of road woes – defensive struggles traveling well with actual defense getting left behind. Instead, it was the story of lights-out offense and the Bruins’ first conference road win of the season. UCLA held off a surging Oregon State and sacrificed its lead only twice, holding on to secure the 82-73 win.
“(Over) the last six days, they have practiced well. It doesn’t always work that way; you can practice well and still play bad at times,” Alford said. “We’ve practiced well, we’ve had a great demeanor to us, they’ve listened, they’ve watched more tape than they ever have. I think they know. I think it’s been all over everywhere, that we’re giving up 86 points a game.”
Junior guard Isaac Hamilton poured in 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting – Hamilton’s 15th consecutive game scoring in double digits. The guard’s shooting combined with a double-double from sophomore center Thomas Welsh – 10 points, 11 rebounds – and strong post defense from senior forward/center Tony Parker – four blocks – translated into a dominant win over a team that has only lost three total home games.
The only lapse in defensive effort came in the final four minutes as the Bruins switched from being the aggressors to trying to protect their lead. The Beavers took advantage of the change in mindset to score 17 points in an attempt to close the late-game gap. By that point, it was already too late. Hamilton, junior guard Bryce Alford and freshman guard Aaron Holiday combined for 56 points as UCLA built an insurmountable early double-digit lead.
“We have I think five guys – all five starters – are averaging 10 points a game. I think it just shows that you can’t really just (try to) stop one guy, like Bryce or Isaac,” Welsh said. “There are other guys that can score, too. I think it just makes us a lot more versatile on the offensive end.”
That versatility failed to translate to the defensive sets in the early season, and while the Oregon State win is one small step, UCLA still has a long road ahead. The Bruins gave up 38 points in the paint and allowed the Beavers to shoot 41.5 percent from the field. Had the offensive scoring not been what it was, UCLA would have had to put more pressure on its defense – something that didn’t bode well for the team last week against USC.
“I think we’re starting to pick it up. Today, we kind of showed that we can play defense,” Hamilton said. “When we play good teams, that’s kind of what our main focus is. We’ve just got to maintain that throughout the games.”