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Cougars can't hang onto first-half lead in loss to No. 6 UCLA |
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JaredCowley | Wednesday, November 15, 2006, 10:57 pm
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Jason Franchuk
DAILY HERALD
LOS ANGELES — It was UCLA that struggled to find a groove, and take control, Wednesday night in its first game of the season against BYU.
It was also the Bruins who sometimes looked like the worse shooting team, and unable to play the defense they've been so noted for.
Yet the home team, the sixth-ranked team in the country coming off an NCAA runner-up showing last April, did just enough to shrug off a feisty BYU team, 82-69, after the Cougars had as much as a nine-point lead in the first half at Pauley Pavilion.
Don't let the score trick you. It was tight until the final five minutes, before UCLA's athleticism and quick hands, particularly from its guards, became every bit as dangerous as BYU coaches and players worried about while preparing for their season opener.
"The guys executed the game plan," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "We were able to make some shots. Then we had too many mistakes in the second half, especially late."
That's when it turned into a dunkfest, UCLA finally able to get as glitzy as the city they play in.
The Cougars weathered through a 10-2 UCLA run to start the second half, and star center Trent Plaisted was riddled by foul trouble for most of it. He picked up his third foul with 17:47 remaining, and Rose opted to leave the sophomore in.
The fourth foul, one away from disqualification, came at 13:28. Plaisted sat until 5:34 remained, when the Cougars faced a 68-62 deficit.
Matching his team's resolve, Plaisted managed to tough out the foul trouble -- he even took a no-doubt charging call shortly after his return. But like the rest of the Cougars, he was rendered ineffective over the last 5-plus minutes.
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute led the Bruins with 24 points and owned the second half. He forced Plaisted into his third foul early in the second half, which was quickly followed by No. 4. Mbah a Moute added 11 rebounds and forced his way to the free-throw line 13 times, sinking 10.
Darren Collison added 16 points and 10 assists, and Rose praised his stalwart defense that made moving the ball around tough for BYU.
BYU could never replicate its first-half marksmanship.
Keena Young led his team with 16 points, the only double-digit performance as four Cougars -- Jimmy Balderson, Lee Cummard, Mike Rose and Sam Burgess -- added nine each as the last two split a 6-for-6 showing from 3-point range. All four are basically shooting guards.
The Cougars nailed eight of their nine 3-pointers in the first half, the only blemish being Cummard's miss to start the game. They came from all ranges and angles. Dave Rose pushed the right buttons, getting bench players Mike Rose and Burgess to step into the fabled arena and knock down shots that had to have the Bruins wondering a little if they were going to be the second major upset of the day.
It's early in the season, and everyone's vulnerable. North Carolina nearly lost to an unknown team, and Kansas fell at home to Oral Roberts.
Those superpowers nearly had company on the close calls.
Burgess hit a pair of 3-pointers in 20 seconds, taking the Cougars from a four-point deficit to a 14-12 lead. Austin Ainge followed with another long-range shot.
"A lot of good things came out of the game," said Rose, whose team will play at home for the first time Saturday against Idaho State (7:30 p.m., Marriott Center).
BYU's biggest lead of the first half was 29-20, after Rose hit his second consecutive bomb.
BYU trailed 10-2 early, suffering on the offensive glass and with its own patience. Rose's team had six turnovers in the opening 4:53. That tenacity turned up again late in the game, producing similar results as the Cougars were coaxed into multiple traveling violations and charging calls.
"Their pressure didn't allow us to always get the ball where we wanted to," Rose said.
The worst thing that could've happened to the Cougars was slippage at the end of the first 20 minutes. It happened, as UCLA finally strung together a few baskets to slice what could've been a much more formidable deficit.
"It hurt, because we weren't getting stops," Young said.
Trailing by eight, the Bruins scored the last five points of the opening half to trail 39-36.
They hit 3-of-4 free throws and Collison had a driving shot with five seconds left.
Tightening the margin proved to be quite effective, and the Bruins followed with firmer defense around the perimeter.
Able to get free off the dribble, or drive and dish into good looks from 3-point range in the first half, UCLA coach Ben Howland's nefarious defense allowed just six long-range attempts in the second half. The Cougars made two.
Howland, though, said "no doubt" the Cougars would be an NCAA tournament team in March.
Notes: BYU coaches were visited by UCLA assistant Donnie Daniels before the game. In his fourth year with the Bruins, the 52-year-old spent 11 seasons (1990-2000) as Rick Majerus' aide at Utah. UCLA head coach Ben Howland is a graduate of Weber State (1978-80). ... BYU freshman Jonathan Tavernari did not travel. He's expected to redshirt this year, as the Cougars have several more experienced shooting guards. ... Sam Burgess started in the second half at off-guard in place of Jimmy Balderson, joining expected starters center Trent Plaisted, point guard Rashaun Broadus, power forward Keena Young, and small forward Lee Cummard.
Former UCLA standout Jordan Farmar, who left early for the NBA after last season, was in the crowd. So was 96-year-old coaching legend John Wooden. ... BYU had 23 turnovers.
Jason Franchuk is the BYU beat writer for the Daily Herald. He can be reached at
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