SAN JOSE “”mdash; As the ball came out of his hands, Josh Shipp fell flat on his back, unsure of whether he had made the shot.
When he got up, he heard the good news from the crowd noise.
Sophomore forward Shipp had just sunk his third 3-pointer of the game, and his team was the proud owner of a 43-31 lead with just 11 minutes remaining in the game.
“I was thinking, “˜Did it go in?'” Shipp said. “I couldn’t even see ““ the guy knocked me down before I got it out of my hands. Fortunately it went down for me ““ it was one of those shots.”
Shipp finished the game as the Bruins’ second-leading scorer with 16 points as junior guard Arron Afflalo led the team with 17 points. But more importantly than that, while Afflalo struggled to hit shots (Afflalo was just 3-for-11 from the field and scored the majority of his points on free throws), Shipp was draining his.
In a game full of defense and missed offensive opportunities, Shipp’s shooting proved to be one of the differences in the game.
“(Shipp) made some big shots,” Afflalo said. “Tonight was Josh’s night. I’m proud of the way he played.”
FREE-THROW SHOOTING: Another big key for the Bruins was their outstanding performance from the free-throw line.
UCLA made all eight of their free throws in the first half and nailed 23-of-26 for the game. Afflalo tied his career high, knocking down all 10 of his attempts from the line. Sophomore point guard Darren Collison was 6-of-6, and even Mata, who entered the game shooting 38 percent from the line, calmly sank his two free-throw attempts.
“I think we’re just focusing (on free throws) now,” Shipp said. “I think we have a tendency to play around in practice a little bit too much. But I think we’re getting down to business and focusing.”
BENCH STEPS UP: When the Bruin starters went to the bench either because of foul trouble or for rest, UCLA didn’t miss a beat.
The Bruins played 10 men against Pittsburgh and each had a key role in the victory.
In particular, freshman forward James Keefe and sophomore forward Michael Roll stepped up for the Bruins.
Keefe played a season-high 10 minutes in the first half, helping to stop senior forward Aaron Gray and scoring two points on an easy dunk off a feed from Collison.
“It’s always good to get a dunk, especially in a Sweet 16 game,” Keefe said. “That obviously boosts your confidence and gets you pumped up in the game.”
Roll, meanwhile, drilled a 3-pointer and hit a 2-footer to put the Bruins ahead by seven points with 51 seconds to go, essentially sealing the victory for UCLA.
“(The bench) definitely gave us a big lift,” Shipp said. “Mike Roll came down and hit that clutch shot at the end. The bench was real key for us today.”