CSUB handles UCLA for 20 minutes before Bruins pull away
| Friday, Nov 20 2009 11:54 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Nov 21 2009 12:01 AM
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Cal State Bakersfield guard Stephon Carter, left, passes the ball past UCLA forward James Keefe during the first half Friday in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES -- The Pauley Pavilion crowd and UCLA seemed stunned when Cal State Bakersfield controlled Friday night's game for much of the first half.
But the Bruins grabbed the momentum over the final five minutes of the first half and didn't give it back in a 75-64 win before 6,782 in Pauley Pavilion.
"I don't think there's any question we had them on their heels a little bit," said CSUB coach Keith Brown, who saw his Roadrunners (1-2) take double-digit leads five different times in the final 9:21 of the first half.
UCLA, which trailed twice by 11 points, started to regroup with about five minutes left in the first half, then pulled into a 35-35 halftime tie by outscoring CSUB 10-0 over the final 3:54.
And the Bruins (1-1) stayed hot after the break, taking the lead for good on guard Malcolm Lee's layup with 19:21 left in the game and pulling away after that.
In the first 12 minutes of the second half, CSUB sank only 1-of-11 shots and had seven turnovers. UCLA ran off a 25-7 spurt over that stretch to make it 60-42 with 8:14 remaining. The final score was as close as CSUB got after that.
"You've got to give it to them, the adjustments they made to what we were doing," Brown said. "When we did defend their guys, we gave them some offensive rebounds, and that's when length became a factor in the game. When we spread the floor, length becomes a factor and it shows up in second shots."
UCLA outrebounded CSUB 39-25 -- 24-10 in the second half -- and had 10 offensive rebounds that were converted into 12 points.
The Roadrunners hit only 5-of-12 free throws in the second half after making 9-of-11 in the first half.
"It came down to free throws and execution," said CSUB senior forward Trent Blakley, who had 15 points to share the Roadrunners' top scoring honors with freshman guard Stephon Carter. "We played very well in the first half, and we played well at times in the second half, too. But in the end, they shot better and played better defense."
Carter had a memorable play in the first half when he made a steal and went up for a dunk shot, only to have it stuffed by UCLA's 6-foot-9 center Drew Gordon.
"I'm on Sportscenter's Top 10 tonight," Carter said with a smile. "I'll go in aggressive no matter what. He's a 6-10 pro prospect and I'm a 6-3 freshman. It was a welcome-to-college moment."
Point guard Donavan Bragg added 10 points for CSUB. Gordon led UCLA with a career-best 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
"They accomplished two goals," Brown said of his players. "This is our third game of the year, our first road game, and we wanted to improve on our two previous games. I think we did that."
The second goal dealt with where the CSUB program is in its 40-year history and how it responded to playing a team with the tradition of UCLA.
"We wanted to make a statement tonight, regardless of the outcome, that we'd represent the community, the university and the people of Bakersfield who helped build this thing," Brown said.
Notes
UCLA officials announced after the game that Sally Harrick, wife of former UCLA coach and former Bakersfield Jam coach Jim Harrick, died Friday night from complications of scleroderma. ...
UCLA was rocked earlier Friday by the arrest of 6-foot-9 senior forward Nikola Dragovic on a felony assault charge stemming from an incident at a Hollywood concert last month. He was suspended from the team Friday.
