UCLA Rally Falls Short On Unforced Errors

By Bruin Basketball Report

Box Score

The Bruins rallied but came up short losing to the Oregon Ducks, 70-68, at Pauley Pavilion on Senior Day.

After falling behind by 14 points, the Bruins rallied to tie the game, 65-65, with just 2 minutes remaining in the game.  

But then Jerime Anderson committed two consecutive turnovers to snuff out the Bruin rally.  

In the first play Tyler Honeycutt cut to the basket but Anderson tossed a pass low and behind him for a turnover after which Tajuan Porter hit a three-pointer to put the Ducks up 68-65.  On this same play Anderson misplayed a screen set for Porter by going under the screen, and Porter with the extra space hit the trey.

On the ensuing play Anderson dribbled up past halfcourt  but then inexplicably threw the ball away with just 50 seconds remaining to end the Bruins chances.

After crawling back from a huge deficit, it was disheartening for the team to lose on the unforced errors.

Senior Michael Roll hit a three-pointer to end the game to bring the final losing margin to one.

Roll, playing his last game at Pauley Pavilion, finished to tie a career-high 25 points.

In the first half UCLA was ineffective attacking the Duck's 2-3 zone, launching numerous three-point shots off the mark to begin the game.  They were just 4 of 14 from beyond the arc in the opening half for 28% as they fall behind 41-31 going into halftime.

The Bruins were passive offensively, unable or perhaps unwilling to attack the Oregon zone and instead were willing to slowly pass the ball around the perimeter until forced to launch a shot before the shot clock expired.

In the second half, the Bruins were more effective against the zone as they put Malcolm Lee on the baseline to run behind the zone.  It resulted in Lee getting 18 points in the game, mostly on backdoor layups.

Defensively the Bruins were unable to stop Tajuan Porter who finished with 29 points on 7 of 9 shooting from beyond the arc.  In addition, UCLA was outrebounded 33-26 by Oregon.

In the second half, the UCLA defensive 2-3 zone got more aggressive, extending and pressuring the Ducks on the perimeter,  to help cut the lead, but then the  Bruin turnovers at the end were just too much to overcome.

A couple of bright notes from a rather dreary day at Pauley Pavilion, Tyler Honeycutt finished with a game-high 13 rebounds and 9 assists, while fellow freshman Brendan Lane continued to show promise as he finished 4 of 4 from the field for 8 points and pulled down 5 rebounds in 23 mintues of action.

UCLA (13-15, 8-8) travels to Arizona next week and needs to sweep both Arizona schools to end the regular season at .500.  It will be no easy task. 

Honeycutt's Double-Double Leads UCLA To Win

By Bruin Basketball Report

Box Score

Freshman Tyler Honeycutt had the best all-around game of his young collegiate career to help UCLA to a 65-56 victory over the visiting Oregon State Beavers.

Honeycutt recorded a double-double with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds.  He also added 5 blocked shots, 3 steals, and numerous tipped  balls to his resume in this game.

He stepped it up to help the Bruins compensate for a rash of injuries to their front line which includes injuries to James Keefe, Brendan Lane, and Reeves Nelson.

Keefe is out for the season with shoulder surgery, Lane is day-to-day with an injured ankle, while Nelson has not yet been cleared after undergoing laser eye surgery earlier this week.

UCLA played a short 7 man rotation in this game.

Sophomore guard Malcolm Lee snapped back on the offensive end with 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting.  He also had just 2 turnovers.

In the first half, the Bruins efficiently picked apart the Beavers' 1-3-1 zone to jump out to 36-26 lead.

In the second half the Beavers' zone got more active as they pulled back into contention to trail the Bruins by just one with less than 4 minutes remaining.

But then UCLA' s defense solidified after a Honeycutt block and a Lee steal, the Bruins pushed the lead back to 7 after a Nikola Dragovic lay-up with less than a minute left in the game.

Dragovic finished with 14 points as he started at center for the Bruins, and did an adequate job in the middle of the defensive zone.

The Bruins shot 52.1% from the field while holding the Beavers to just 33.3%

UCLA now 13-14 (8-7) faces the Oregon Ducks on Saturday.

Bruin Injury Updates: Nelson and Lane

By Bruin Basketball Report

Freshman forward Brendan Lane sprained his left ankle on the last play at the end of practice yesterday. 

Lane is in a boot and did not practice Wednesday and will be a game-time decision when the Bruins take the court against Oregon State on Thursday.

Post man Reeves Nelson has not been medically cleared to play in either home game this week against the Oregon schools. 

Nelson had successful laser retinopexy on Feb. 22, 2010 to repair a slight retinal tear in his left eye. 

He will be revaluated early next week for the Bruins' final regular season road trip at the Arizona schools.

Reeves Nelson Has Successful Eye Surgery

By Bruin Basketball Report

From the UCLA Athletic Department: 

UCLA freshman forward Reeves Nelson had laser retinopexy on his left eye today to repair a slight tear in his retina. The surgery was done at UCLA's world-renowned Jules Stein Eye Institute by Dr. Steven Schwartz. 

He did not practice today and is not slated to practice tomorrow. He will be revaluated on Wednesday for Thursday's game against Oregon State (Feb. 25). 

"The retinal tear was very far away from his central and meaningful peripheral vision and should not affect his ability to see the court," Dr. Schwartz said. "He is an extremely tough kid and tolerated the procedure extremely well without anaesthesia." 

Dr. Schwartz said that he has consulted with Los Angeles Lakers' athletic trainer, Gary Vitti, who will assist with protective eyewear, the same worn by James Worthy. 

The tear had a small amount of blood around it, indicating it was a recent injury. 

Nelson took a hard face-first fall after a slam dunk in the first half of the Bruins' game at Washington State last Thursday (Feb. 18). He sustained a two-inch cut above his right eye, requiring 15 stitches. He never returned to the game. He started two nights later when UCLA visited the University of Washington. 

Upon his return, Nelson was revaluated by UCLA team physician, Dr. John DiFiori, and after that consultation, Dr. DiFiori referred him to Dr. Schwartz.  

Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (2/22)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.  

Commits

In 1AA, Santa Ana Mater Dei (25-1) used balanced scoring to defeat Corona, 95-46. Keala King had 17 points, Tyler Lamb 16 and Gary Franklin Jr. 14. LA Times 2/17

Lee has the confidence of teammates, who realize he is getting on-the-job training. "Going from shooting guard to point guard . . . is a big adjustment. It shows his character that he can deal with it," Roll said. Whether Lee deals with it beyond this season is to be seen. He would like to remain a point guard, but Howland's concerns about the position are such that he took the unusual step of recruiting a community college transfer. Lazeric Jones, a 6-1 point guard from Logan College in Illinois, arrives next season. LA Times 2/18

Kentridge 55, Gig Harbor 43: Joshua Smith, Kentwood's 6-9 senior, scored 30 points as the sixth-ranked Conquerors beat visiting Gig Harbor. Kentwood plays Decatur Friday for a trip to state. Seattle Times 2/18

It came as no surprise to local coaches and talent evaluators that there were no McDonald's All-American selections from the state of California. The Golden State leads in all-time McDonald's All-Americans, but was shut out for the first time in the event's 33-year history. One only has to look at the state's top teams for an indication as to why. Top-ranked Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), currently No. 7 in the ESPN RISE FAB 50, has three fine players, but two of them basically are both wing players (UCLA-bound Tyler Lamb and Arizona State-bound Keala King) and the team's elder statesman, Gary Franklin Jr., is a point guard in a guard-heavy class. RISE 2/18

Best All-Around: Tyler Lamb (6-5, 190), Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei: Lamb is the most polished prospect in this group. He isn't the bounciest, but his skills and savvy for the game speak volumes. The only question mark concerning his game is his inconsistent outside shot. However, due to his approach, he should be a fine fit in Ben Howland's defensive-minded system. ESPN 2/19

Coach Gary McKnight's top-ranked (in California and in the CIF Southern Section's I-AA Division) did a dandy job of displaying that point Friday at Jordan High school while cruising past the Panthers, 103-77, in a second-round playoff contest. The Monarchs (26-1) trailed by five points late in the first quarter to provide a shot of adrenalin for Coach Ron Massey's Panthers and their crowd. But after future UCLA Bruin Tyler Lamb scored with four seconds to go to give Mater Dei the lead at 20-19 after a quarter, the Monarchs sizzled in the second and third quarters....Lamb (who had 18 of his game-high 25 points in the first half), Mater Dei scored 64 points in the middle 16 minutes of the game.  Press Telegram 2/19

Recruits

The Flint Southwestern boys' basketball team was able to keep the pace slow and the scoring low for a half Feb. 17, but Mount Pleasant pulled away in the second half in a 60-42 win....Mount Pleasant pulled away in the fourth, getting the lead into double figures after dunks on consecutive possessions by Trey Zeigler. Southwestern couldn't get the lead back under 10 the rest of the way. Graham led Southwestern with 12. Josh Young had eight and Kendric Roberts scored seven. Zeigler finished with 26. MLive 2/17

Finlday Prep (NV) took on the Hotchkiss School (CT) at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton (NJ). Playing without Texas-bound forward Tristan Thompson, Findlay was still too deep and too big for Hotchkiss as Cory Joseph and Nick Johnson tossed in 19 points each to lead Findlay to a 64-48 victory. NBE Sports 2/17

The Mt. Pleasant High School boys basketball team shrugged off a slow start Wednesday night to record a 60-42 win at Flint Southwestern Academy. The Oilers (13-3, 7-2 Saginaw Valley League) ended the first quarter down 7-5, but regained the lead at halftime at 20-16. A big fourth quarter in which Mt. Pleasant outscored the hosts 18-7 put the finishing touches on the victory. Trey Zeigler tallied 24 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks, and three steals to lead Mt. Pleasant. Morning Sun 2/18

The screams were ear-piercing during the starting lineups Friday at Roosevelt, but there was one big name missing from Lew Wallace's starting five. Branden Dawson, arguably the region's best player, was left off the starting lineup. But when he emerged two minutes into the game, the show began. The 6-foot-6 junior forward made his presence felt in a tournament atmosphere, as he led the Hornets (13-4, 2-0) to a 77-68 Northwestern Conference victory. "It hurt being on the sideline to start, but I knew my team would step up and handle business," Dawson said, who didn't g
ive a reason for the brief benching. The Hornets led 4-1 when Dawson entered the game. He scored eight of his game-high 32 points in the first quarter. Post Tribune 2/2o

With four Dragons scoring in double figures, No. 3 Sacramento (20-6, 10-0) ran to an 85-53 win over the No. 10 Titans (20-7, 8-2) to capture their fourth consecutive Metro title. Sacramento is 39-1 in league play during that run. Junior guard Josiah Turner had 22 points. Sac Bee 2/21

Third-ranked Milton held off Wheeler 72-71 when Jalen Kendrick’s buzzer-beating shot at the end of overtime was ruled a 2-pointer, preserving Milton’s victory....Scott finished with 17 points for Milton, which was led in scoring by Julian Royal with 18. AJC 2/20