The UCLA men’s basketball team wasted no time getting the season underway on Friday night against Portland State as it got off to a dominating start and never looked back, defeating the Vikings 69-48.
The Bruins (1-0) got off to an early 18-2 lead and held a 9-0 rebounding advantage against Portland State (0-1).
Junior guard Josh Shipp played a big role in the early surge, draining two 3-pointers, dishing out an assist, forcing a turnover that he converted into a dunk, and drawing an offensive foul.
“It’s always good to knock down the first one,” Shipp said of his first 3-point attempt.
From there, the veteran guard only improved, holding Viking guard Dupree Lucas scoreless and causing him to commit five turnovers.
While Shipp is known primarily for his offensive prowess, he is beginning to prove he can play a solid all-around game.
“I shut down my opponent tonight, and I take pride in that,” Shipp said. “I’m a scorer, so people tend to forget that I can play defense, but I can do it ““ the stats prove it.”
Though his lock-down defense brought back memories of Arron Afflalo, Shipp insisted he isn’t the “new Arron.”
“I’m the new Josh Shipp,” he said. “No disrespect to Arron; I’m just my own man.”
Meanwhile, Kevin Love proved yet again that he won’t be disrespected and that he’s the inside presence UCLA fans have yearned for.
Love, along with Shipp, helped the Bruins to the early lead by throwing down two monstrous dunks and draining a short jumper.
He didn’t stop there though; he almost recorded a double-double in the first half alone with 13 points and eight rebounds at the break.
“He was very good rebounding the ball on defense to the point where some of our guys were taking off a little bit early expecting him to get every rebound,” coach Ben Howland said of Love.
The standout freshman was nowhere near finished, though. He ended the game with a team-high 22 points along with 13 rebounds.
Love’s 22 points were the second-most by a UCLA freshman in a debut game, and his 13 rebounds set a new record, surpassing Charles O’Bannon’s 1993 mark of 12 rebounds.
But for Love, none of that mattered, because he was able to accomplish the task he was out to complete in his first game.
“I’m not here for records,” he said. “I’m just here to help my team win as best we can. And that’s win No. 1 out of the way.”
COMING UP: UCLA will have two days to regroup before taking the court once again against Youngstown State in the first round of the CBE Classic.
The Bruins and Penguins will be playing in the second game, with a scheduled tip-off of 8 p.m., following a matchup between Weber State and San Bernadino State.
The two winners will face off on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.