Author Archives: Nik Lampros

TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; At times this season, UCLA’s defense has struggled to contain athletic forwards. Texas’s Damion James had 19 points and a game-winning dunk against the Bruins in December. USC’s Davon Jefferson exploded for 25 points to help beat UCLA in January.

TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; As Arizona’s players filed off the court following their loss to UCLA, one fan in the Arizona student section yelled out, “One more year, Jerryd!”

TEMPE, Ariz. “”mdash; With six seconds left in the first half and the Bruins leading by eight, Josh Shipp snared a defensive rebound near the Bruins’ 3-point line and glanced upcourt.

With nine seconds left in the first half of UCLA’s game against Oregon, the Ducks’ Tajuan Porter drained a 3-pointer to give his team a 34-31 lead heading into halftime. It was Porter’s third 3-pointer of the half, and it served as a fitting exclamation point to a first half that saw Oregon’s long-range shooting cause problems for UCLA’s defense.

There were plenty of missed shots, there was the kind of grinding defense that results in numerous turnovers, and there was a five-minute stretch near the end of the second half when the two teams combined for a grand total of two points. It wasn’t pretty, and scoring chances were often hard to come by.

SEATTLE “”mdash; With less than a minute left in the second half and his team furiously holding on to a five-point lead over visiting UCLA, Washington guard Tim Morris attempted to inbound the ball from right in front of the Bruins’ bench.

As the No. 5 UCLA men’s basketball team prepares for this weekend’s road games against Washington State and Washington, it will once again be without one of its major contributors.