UCLA rattled but rolls past Western Kentucky
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 Love in 2008 NBA draft April 18: Kevin Love and his coach Ben Howland talk about Love's decision to join the NBA draft. |
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 | Closer than expected March 27: UCLA may have fueled Western Kentucky's comeback in the second half, but they still pulled it out in the end. NBC Sports |
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Howland was so desperate to stem the tide that he called his final timeout. Steadied, the Bruins did not let the Hilltoppers draw closer than six the rest of the way.
Perhaps it was no surprise that UCLA let the scrappy Hilltoppers back in the game. The Bruins rolled into the desert on a 12-game winning streak, but they hadn’t been dominant. Five of their last eight wins had been by three points or less, and another came after they forced overtime.
The Hilltoppers had won eight straight games and reached the round of 16 for the first time since 1993, when Horn was a sophomore guard. At No. 12, Western Kentucky was the lowest remaining seed in the tourney, along with Villanova.
Early on, Western Kentucky looked the part of a 12th seed. The Hilltoppers came out jittery, with four turnovers in the first three minutes. And they had more turnovers (nine) than field goals (six) in the first half.
Lee made two of his first 13 shots from the floor.
Things were no better at the other end, where Western Kentucky had no answer for Love.
D.J. Magley and Jeremy Evans each fouled Love in a 5-second span in the first minute, and Evans went to the bench with his second foul three minutes into the game.
UCLA has had trouble generating offense recently — Love and Darren Collison scored 40 of UCLA’s 51 points in the second-round victory over Texas A&M — but that all changed during the 23-4 run midway through the first half.
Four players scored during the burst, including Shipp, who hit a 3-pointer to snap an 0-for-11 slump from beyond the arc over the last three-plus games. Western Kentucky called timeout, and several Bruins greeted a relieved Shipp on his way back to the bench.
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