Saturday, March 7
Los Angeles, Calif.
12:30 PM
University of Oregon
68
at
94
UCLA
Photo by: GoDucks.com
Late surge pushes UCLA past Ducks
03/07/09 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Josh Shipp, Darren Collison and Alfred Aboya comprise the winningest senior class in UCLA's storied history. After a slow start, they padded their legacy with victory No. 121 on Saturday.
Shipp scored a career-high 28 points, Collison added 19, Aboya had 10 and the 20th-ranked Bruins defeated Oregon 94-68 to keep alive their chance for a share of their fourth straight Pac-10 title.
But it was out of their hands.
The Bruins (24-7, 13-5) had to wait for the result of No. 16 Washington's game later Saturday against Washington State. If Washington State won, UCLA would tie Washington for first place and get the No. 1 seed in next week's Pac-10 tournament based on a tiebreaker.
If the Huskies won, they would earn their first outright title since 1953 and the Bruins would be the No. 2 seed.
Shipp said he didn't plan on watching the Huskies and Cougars.
"I'll probably go home and take a little nap," he said. "I'm tired. It was a rough game."
Freshman Drew Wiley matched his career high with 18 points, including a career-best six 3-pointers, for the last-place Ducks (8-22, 2-16), who ended up with the same number of league victories as last season and ensured a second straight losing season. They will be the No. 10 seed in the Pac-10 tourney.
"This team has gotten better in the second half of the season," Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. "These last couple of contests have shown where we are going as a team. I just want these guys to battle."
Shipp saved his two best performances for his final two games at Pauley Pavilion.
The senior, who scored 27 points in Thursday's rout of Oregon State, topped himself Saturday in his 130th start, passing Earl Watson for most in school history. Shipp scored 15 of UCLA's 21 points during a 7-minute stretch in the second half before leaving with 3:42 remaining.
"We were excited to play this game," he said. "We knew it was important for seeding in case Washington slips up. I definitely think it's a good time to get hot. It's tourney time, time to bring your `A' game."
Junior Nikola Dragovic also had 10 points for the Bruins, who topped 90 points for the second time in the Pac-10 this season and won their fourth straight.
Collison went down hard when he was fouled by Matthew Humphrey under the basket with 12:51 remaining. He got up, hit the free throw to complete the three-point play and left the game for good about 30 seconds later.
He was taken to the hospital for an MRI on his tailbone.
"The trainer says it's just a bruise," coach Ben Howland said.
Oregon hit 12 3-pointers, tying their season best, but just three of those came in the second half. That's when UCLA gained its first double-digit lead of the game, and eventually pulled away. The Bruins were 14-of-15 from the free throw line.
The Ducks closed to 55-51 on a 3-pointer by Humphrey before the Bruins ran off 12 straight points to take a 67-51 lead. Collison had five in a row and Shipp hit one of his four 3-pointers.
Shipp scored a career-high 28 points, Collison added 19, Aboya had 10 and the 20th-ranked Bruins defeated Oregon 94-68 to keep alive their chance for a share of their fourth straight Pac-10 title.
But it was out of their hands.
The Bruins (24-7, 13-5) had to wait for the result of No. 16 Washington's game later Saturday against Washington State. If Washington State won, UCLA would tie Washington for first place and get the No. 1 seed in next week's Pac-10 tournament based on a tiebreaker.
If the Huskies won, they would earn their first outright title since 1953 and the Bruins would be the No. 2 seed.
Shipp said he didn't plan on watching the Huskies and Cougars.
"I'll probably go home and take a little nap," he said. "I'm tired. It was a rough game."
Freshman Drew Wiley matched his career high with 18 points, including a career-best six 3-pointers, for the last-place Ducks (8-22, 2-16), who ended up with the same number of league victories as last season and ensured a second straight losing season. They will be the No. 10 seed in the Pac-10 tourney.
"This team has gotten better in the second half of the season," Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. "These last couple of contests have shown where we are going as a team. I just want these guys to battle."
Shipp saved his two best performances for his final two games at Pauley Pavilion.
The senior, who scored 27 points in Thursday's rout of Oregon State, topped himself Saturday in his 130th start, passing Earl Watson for most in school history. Shipp scored 15 of UCLA's 21 points during a 7-minute stretch in the second half before leaving with 3:42 remaining.
"We were excited to play this game," he said. "We knew it was important for seeding in case Washington slips up. I definitely think it's a good time to get hot. It's tourney time, time to bring your `A' game."
Junior Nikola Dragovic also had 10 points for the Bruins, who topped 90 points for the second time in the Pac-10 this season and won their fourth straight.
Collison went down hard when he was fouled by Matthew Humphrey under the basket with 12:51 remaining. He got up, hit the free throw to complete the three-point play and left the game for good about 30 seconds later.
He was taken to the hospital for an MRI on his tailbone.
"The trainer says it's just a bruise," coach Ben Howland said.
Oregon hit 12 3-pointers, tying their season best, but just three of those came in the second half. That's when UCLA gained its first double-digit lead of the game, and eventually pulled away. The Bruins were 14-of-15 from the free throw line.
The Ducks closed to 55-51 on a 3-pointer by Humphrey before the Bruins ran off 12 straight points to take a 67-51 lead. Collison had five in a row and Shipp hit one of his four 3-pointers.
Dana Altman: "We know how we want to play."
Thursday, April 09
Evans Jr. & Bittle | Postgame vs. Washington
Sunday, March 08
Dana Altman | Postgame vs. Washington
Sunday, March 08
Dana Altman: "He's always been about the team."
Thursday, March 05
