UCLA Rallies To Top Colorado State

By Bruin Basketball Report

Box Score

The Bruins struggled against Colorado State but then pulled away in the final six minutes to win 75-63 at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA's offense struggled against Colorado State's 2-3 zone and had problems keeping the opponent off the glass, and went into halftime tied 34-34 against the underdog Rams.

In the second half Colorado State moved out to its largest lead of 8 points with just under twelve minutes to play. 

But then the Bruins rallied with the struggling Jerime Anderson making some plays down the stretch, breaking down the defense and finding either Reeves Nelson or Nikola Dragovic for easy lay-ups.

In past games Anderson's indecisiveness has cost the Bruins valuable possessions, but at least in the in the second half of this game he came through.

Anderson, perhaps inspired by the presence of JC Transfer Lazeric Jones in the audience, finished 4 of 5 from the field for 12 points and 7 assists.  Lazeric Jones has reportedly been offered a scholarship by Ben Howland and is considering a transfer to UCLA.

Nikola Dragovic led UCLA with 17 points as five Bruins finished in double figures.  Nelson added 15 points and 6 rebounds and Malcolm Lee had 16 points and 7 rebounds as UCLA improved its overall record to 4-7.

Michael Roll finished with 11 points including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc.  Roll has been battling the flu.

UCLA faces Deleware State this Sunday at Pauley Pavilion before opening Pac-10 conference play next week against the Arizona schools.

Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (12/21)

By Bruin Basketball Report 

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday. 

Commits

Kentwood (2-3, 2-3) played its third straight game without 6-foot-10 star Josh Smith, the UCLA recruit who is resting a partially torn patellar tendon in his left knee. Smith, wearing a knee brace, said before the game that he will be ready for to return to practice next week and that he expects to play in the T-Mobile Invitational Dec. 29-30 in Birmingham, Ala. Kentwood coach Michael Angelidis could not confirm that timeline, stressing that Smith's health is the top priority. "When the big fella gets healthy and comes back, we're going to be a very good team," he said. "This will pay off. We've got young guys who are learning under fire. Seattle Times 12/18

Recruits

Lew Wallace junior boys basketball player Branden Dawson was picked as the Indiana Pacers Player of the Week for the state's North zone after scoring 20 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in the Hornets' 75-68 overtime win over Class 3A No. 9 Indianapolis Howe last week. NWI Times 12/16

Findlay Prep's 45-game winning streak was snapped Thursday with a 53-52 loss to Northland (Ohio) in a game televised on ESPN at Westerville, Ohio....Nick Johnson scored 14 points and Jabari Brown 10 for Findlay Prep. LVRJ 12/18

The third quarter was a bad one for the Oilers in more ways than one. Not only was it outscored 18-11 but 6-5 senior standout Trey Zeigler sustained a shoulder injury trying for a steal with 30 seconds to play. Zeigler had 23 points and 15 rebounds when injured. He did return in the final period but noticeably favored his left shoulder. "We're not sure how serious it is right now," Taylor said. Zeigler had an ice bag on his shoulder following the game. He finished the game with 27 points and 18 rebounds.  Morning Sun 12/19

Amir Williams had 14 points to lead Detroit Country Day to a 71-43 win over Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard in the final game of the Throwdown in Motown tournament on Saturday. Ray McCallum and Lee Bailey added 12 points each for Country Day (4-0).  Detroit News 12/19

In Friday’s headliner, No. 1 Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) topped Winter Park (Fla.), 86-75, to bounce back from its loss to Northland (Columbus, Ohio) on Thursday night that snapped a 45-game win streak....With Nick Johnson and Tristan Thompson leading the charge in the third quarter, Winter Park’s last rally would come with 1:34 in the fourth quarter cutting the lead to 77-71.  Joseph finished with 27 points, Thompson had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Johnson added 19 points, eight assists and five steals. MaxPreps 12/20