UCLA Easily Dominates Cal State Northridge

By Bruin Basketball Report

Box Score

Josh Shipp and Jrue Holiday each scored 14 points to lead UCLA to an easy 85-67 romp over Cal State Northridge (CSUN) at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday night.

In a game that wasn't as close as even the final margin, the Bruins dominated the game when they needed to and were never in danger despite some momentary lapses and sloppy play.

UCLA committed 19 turnovers in the game although they were outdone by CSUN who committed 23 themselves.

The Bruins got out quickly taking a 22 point lead midway through the first half after outscoring the Matadors 24-6 to take a 37-15 lead.

CSUN did manage to fight back to trail 41-27 at halftime but it would be futile. UCLA put the game out of reach for the final time with another run to stretch the lead in the second half back to 23 points. The run was completed with consecutive three-pointers by Darren Collison and Jrue Holiday.

Collison finished with 13 points and 6 assists. Shipp also added a season-high 6 assists in the game.

Power forward James Keefe had one of his best games of the year, scoring 9 points and grabbing a game-high 7 rebounds in just 22 minutes of play.

Lately Keefe has been looking more comfortable on the offensive end. In this game he hit his first three midrange shots within the flow of the offense. Defensively he has been more disruptive in the paint and has been more aggressive on the boards. The Bruins will need Keefe to continue to improve and be consistent if they expect to go far this season.

All the heralded freshmen played extensively in the game, however, Drew Gordon perhaps shined the most. The San Jose native had 9 points on 4 of 4 shooting and grabbed 5 rebounds, but most impressive was the energy he brought onto the court. His level of intensity and activity was contagious. His jumper from the high post helped to ignite the Bruins second half run.

UCLA's defense sparkled in the first half holding CSUN to a miserable 33.3%. The Bruins' overall quickness and athleticism was too overwhelming for the Matadors to overcome. The Bruins had 13 steals in the game - Jrue Holiday led the team with 6.

In the second half, play got more sloppy and the intensity level fall off the table for the Bruins as they allowed the Matadors to shoot over 60% in the half and score 40 points.

UCLA's next game will be at the John R. Wooden Classic in Anaheim on December 13. The Bruins will take on DePaul in their match-up.

(photo credit: AP)