On Wednesday night against USC, it was Taj Gibson.
On Saturday, it was Luke Harangody’s turn.
The Big East’s leading scorer fell victim to the suddenly suffocating defense of senior center Alfred Aboya combined with the intense on-ball pressure of the Bruin guards in UCLA’s (19-4, 8-2 Pac-10) blow-out 89-63 win over Notre Dame (12-10, 3-7 Big East) at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday morning.
Harangody’s five points added up to his lowest total of the season. In fact, the junior forward has scored in double figures in every game he has played in this season. His one rebound was also a season low. When he left the game with 10 minutes, 33 seconds left in the second half, Harangody had played just 25 minutes ““ the lowest since he played 25 minutes in a win over Savannah State in December ““ and was clearly frustrated with his play.
All the impressive numbers Harangody had put up this season only made the defensive job of Aboya and the Bruins that much more special.
“(I’m) just so excited about how the kids are playing defensively,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “We forced eight turnovers in the first half, and they average nine (a game). That gave us the lead, and we did a great job on Harangody, both individually by Alfred Aboya and as a team pressuring the ball.”
Aboya was the Bruin who stood out the most. One game after he scored 14 points against the Trojans on Wednesday night, Aboya had another spectacular offensive performance, scoring a game-high 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Aboya also pulled down seven rebounds.
On Saturday, Aboya exhibited his improved jump shot, something he worked hard on during the offseason. After the game, senior point guard Darren Collison talked about how much more dangerous the Bruins are when Aboya is able to knock down the mid-range jumper with consistency.
“We know he can shoot that shot, it just took a while for him to shoot that shot,” Collison said. “When he’s knocking that shot down, it’s going to be real scary because now teams, they really can’t help off him. They really have to play him honestly.”
While the offensive performance was encouraging to see, the main thing that Howland wanted to focus on was Aboya’s defense on Harangody, who entered the game with 11 consecutive double-doubles.
“He’s the best defensive player in the Pac-10,” Howland said. “He’s one of the best defensive players in the country. Usually people look at defense that don’t understand, and say if you have a lot of steals, you’re a good defender or if you block a lot of shots. That may be true to a certain extent, but his defense is absolutely incredible.
“Relentlessness is in Alfred’s case the best I’ve ever had as a coach.”
When he learned about the praise his coach heaped on him, Aboya said it meant a lot to him to hear that.
“I don’t see what makes him say that, because I just do what he asks me to do,” Aboya said. “Every day in practice, he asks to bring that intensity and physicality, toughness every day in practice, which I do. That just translates in the game, so I don’t do anything out of the ordinary.”
Another aspect of the Bruin defense on Harangody was the successful double-teams they sent his way. Howland said that the Bruins did a good job of aggressively stopping the post players from getting the ball out to the perimeter players, forcing the Fighting Irish into crucial turnovers that UCLA was able to convert into points. In the game, the Bruins forced 11 Notre Dame turnovers, which they turned into 17 points.
“As a team, we know that if we play the best to our ability, which means create a lot of turnovers and transition opportunity, that would make it easier,” Aboya said. “I didn’t focus in on (Harangody) particularly. It was just a team defense, a team effort. It just happened that he didn’t score much today.”
After watching his senior center shut down two formidable post players while holding his own offensively, Howland had a simple explanation.
“Alfred Aboya’s playing just like he is: a man.”
INJURY REPORT: Freshman forward Drew Gordon’s back tightened up late in the game and was forced to the bench. Howland said he did not think it was serious. … Freshman guard Malcolm Lee tweaked his left ankle, Howland said. … Junior forward Nikola Dragovic experienced flu-like symptoms after the game.