UCLA Loses Regular Season Finale to Arizona State

By Bruin Basketball Report

Box Score

The UCLA basketball team ended the 2009-10 regular season the same way it started.  

With a loss.

Arizona State behind center Eric Boateng's 16 points and 14 rebounds defeated UCLA, 56-46, in Tempe to finish the Pac-10 regular season.

The Bruins (13-17, 8-10) competed for parts of the game but were never a threat to the Sun Devils (22-9, 12-6) who never let the Bruins closer than 7 points after the opening moments of the game. 

Malcolm Lee and Nikola Dragovic each scored a team-high 15 points but they shot a combined 10-26.  

UCLA shot just 32.7% and was a miserable 4 of 20 on three-pointers.  

Making matters worse, the Bruins chucked up way too many three-point brick attempts which accounted for 35% of their total field goal tries.

Led by Boateng, the Sun Devils also manhandled the Bruins on the boards 39-30.  

Freshman center Reeves Nelson sat out another game with an eye injury, and his replacement Brendan Lane responded with just 2 points and 1 rebound in 17 minutes.

Barring some miracle finish by the Bruins, UCLA is headed for its third losing season since 1947-48, and its second losing season under Head Coach Ben Howland who started coaching at UCLA in 2003.

The Bruins still have the Pac-10 tournament to play.  They open on Thursday as the fifth-seed team and will play the fourth-seed Arizona Wildcats.

Bruins Blow Big Lead, Lose to Wildcats

By Bruin Basketball Report

Box Score

In yet another chapter in UCLA's lost season,  the Bruins let the Arizona Wildcats rally from 14 points in the second half to lose, 78-73, in Tucson.

UCLA defenders inexplicably were unable to locate hot-shooting Arizona guard Kyle Fogg who hit 5 of 6 three-pointers down the stretch to help the Wildcats overcome its big deficit.  

Fogg simply patiently set up on the wing or in the corner and waited for a pass from a teammate against UCLA's soft 2-3 zone and repeatedly hit open shots.

He finished with a career-high 26 points including 19 points in the deciding final half.

This was a game for the Bruins to win.  While Michael Roll was torching Arizona for 21 points, freshman Tyler Honeycutt was controlling the boards with 11 rebounds and the defensive paint with 2 blocks.

But UCLA's inconsistent zone defense was slow in reacting and rotating in the second half as Fogg shot his team back into the game.

Freshman center Reeves Nelson did not play again due to his post-op eye surgery.  

Brendan Lane played solidly at center for 27 minutes and recorded 7 points and 6 rebounds before fouling out with a few minutes to play in the game.

The loss on Thursday ensured UCLA (13-16, 8-9) will end the regular season sub-500, the first time since Coach Ben Howland's first season in Westwood when the Bruins finished 2003-04, 11-17.

UCLA travels to Tempe for its Pac-10 regular season finale against the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday.

UCLA Player Updates

By Bruin Basketball Report

UCLA freshman forward Reeves Nelson has been medically cleared to play in this week's games at Arizona (Mar. 4) and Arizona State (Mar. 6) and completed a full practice today, sporting his new protective gear.

He missed both games last week against the Oregon schools after having successful laser retinopexy on Feb. 22, 2010 to repair a slight retinal tear in his left eye.

Sophomore center J'mison Morgan has been suspended for the Arizona game for a violation of team rules.

Senior forward Nikola Dragovic, who sprained his right ankle after landing on a basketball during pregame of the Oregon contest (Feb. 27), was able to play with full contact at practice today.

UCLA (13-15, 8-8) faces Arizona (14-14, 8-8) on Thursday in Tucson at the McKale Center

Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (3/1)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.  

Commits

Kentwood's 6-foot-10 center Joshua Smith has been selected to play in the elite Jordan Brand Classic in April in New York. Smith, a UCLA signee, is a McDonald's All-American. MaxPreps 2/22

Sophomore guard Lazeric Jones knocked down 22 points, including 12-of-12 from the free-throw line to pace the Logan attack. The Southern 2/23

Joshua Smith, a 6-foot-9 senior, had 22 points and 19 rebounds as seventh-ranked Kentwood beat rival Kentridge Tuesday night, 74-54, in a loser-out game of the West Central 4A District boys basketball tournament at Auburn High School. The Conquerors (15-11) are one win from their first state berth since Smith's freshman year. They play Beamer of Federal Way Friday at 8 p.m. at Foss of Tacoma in one last loser-out game. The Titans (17-7) stayed alive with a wild, 56-55 victory over Mount Tahoma of Tacoma. Smith, who has signed with UCLA and recently was named a McDonald's All-American, doesn't want this season to end the way the last two have, just short of the state tournament. Seattle Times 2/23

Mater Dei's Tyler Lamb made a 3-pointer to put Mater Dei on top, 38-36, King made a jump hook in the key and followed with a finger-roll, and Mater Dei had a six-point lead....Franklin scored 21 points, and Lamb scored 13 and blocked four shots. OC Varsity 2/23

Recruits

The Mt. Pleasant High School boys basketball team won its 13th straight game Tuesday as the Oilers bested host Bay City Central 73-68 in overtime....Trey Zeigler also tallied 27 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out in regulation. Morning Sun 2/24

Another key Kentucky target is big man Terrence Jones, a player from Oregon whom Biancardi coached at the Nike Skills Academy. “He is a power forward body that is chiseled. He possesses small forward skill levels. One of his best attributes is the way he handles the ball facing the basket,” Biancardi said. “With his body and soft touch he can score in the low post and in the mid-post from about 12 feet. AM News 2/25

Detroit Country Day 75, Detroit Denby 64: Ray McCallum scored 22, Amir Williams 19 and Lee Bailey 17 for Country Day (16-1). Derrick Barton scored 21 and Isaiah Sykes 16 for Denby (10-8). Detroit News 2/25

Teammates at Jefferson (Portland, Ore.) and two of the top unsigned 2010 prospects Terrence Jones and Terrence Ross attended the Washington-UCLA game last Saturday on the Husky campus. MaxPreps 2/26