UCLA / UCMB - Game Account - 1st Half

Whew, got home about an hour ago from the UCLA / CSUMB and all I can say is, WOW! I know that most of my vast readers (ok, who am I kidding, all five of them) did not attend the exhibition game between our UCLA Bruins and the CSUMB Otters. However, lucky for you all, I kept a pseudo Sports Guy running diary of the game from my seat in Section 305A, Row 2, Seat 7. And, away we go.....

7:28pm, UCLA 0 | CSUMB 0
Whew, just got to my seat. I was stuck at work chatting with a Dell tech support guy about a PC that is having some hardware problems. Anyway, you're not reading this to hear about work but to hear about the UCLA exhibition game. Said hello to my Dad who usually sits next to me. Didn't really get a chance to watch the UCLA warmup as there was less than 2 minutes to go in warmups. Oh well.

7:30pm, UCLA 0 | CSUMB 0
End of warmups and the UCLA band plays the National Anthem. After the National Anthem ends, the starting lineups are annonced for tonight's game: #1 Jordan Farmar at the point or "1", #4 Aaron Afflalo at the shooting/off guard or "2", #21 Cedric Bozeman at the small forward or "3", #23 Luc Richard Mbah A Moute (wow isn't that a mouthful!) at the power forward or "4", and #15 Ryan Hollins at center or "5". I thought it was interesting that when the players broke out of their huddle to shake hands with the opposing players and get ready for the jump, Farmar was the only player on both teams to go up and shake hands with all three officials. A classy move from our floor general I thought at the time.

20:00 left 1st Half, UCLA 0 | CSUMB 0
UCLA wins the tip! Luc (#23) hesitates when presented with a wide open drive to the rim. I wonder if he was just really surprised to find himself that wide open. The hesitation allows the defender to close to him which forces Luc into an awkward shot. Hey, he's a Freshman, so hopefully this will be the only time this happens to him.

19:11 left 1st Half, UCLA 0 | CSUMB 1
Ced (#21) gives up an O rebound to his man and ends up fouling him in the act of shooting. Come on Ced, you gotta be stronger down low if you are going to play the 3 and the 4 this year. An auspicious start?!?! The CSUMB player only makes 1 of 2. Bruins start off the game down 1-0.

18:43 left 1st Half, UCLA 3 | CSUMB 1
Ced nails a three! There was talk that his shot was really improved last year before he got injured and it looked really good on that shot. He seems to be moving really well and is more in the flow of the game on offense and defense.

18:07 left 1st Half, UCLA 3 | CSUMB 1
Ced grabs a nice D rebound and pushes the ball up the court without hesitation and finds Hollins running the court. Dishes off to him, but Hollins tries to lay in the ball instead of slamming it home and the shot rims out. Come on Ryan, you gotta finish stronger than that. Ced loses an assist. I gotta admit, it's nice to see Ced at the 3 because when he rebounds the ball he can push it right away without having to find a guard to give it up to. It must be nice to have a former point playing the 3. I hope this is a sign that the Bruins are going to run a lot more this year.

17:37 left 1st Half, UCLA 3 | CSUMB 1
Uh-oh. Luc is lying on floor on the defensive side of half court as the Bruins are pushing the ball up for a counter attack. Whew, he only got poked in the eye. What a relief as our front line is pretty banged up what with Fey, Shipp, and Aboya out with injuries. Luc should be ok. Darren Collison, #2, comes in for the first time to replace Luc, which pushes Aaron to the 3 and Ced to the 4. Guess we are going small eh coach?

17:29 left 1st Half, UCLA 5 | CSUMB 1
Nice out of bounds play. Darren makes a nice entry pass to Ced for a layup. Great awareness by Darren and nice finish by Ced. One of the knocks on Ced used to be that he couldn't finish around the basket, and hopefully this is an indication that he will no longer have problems with that.

17:06 left 1st Half, UCLA 7 | CSUMB 1
Wow, two out of bounds plays in a row, and another assist for Darren. Nice execution. Oh, by the way, we are playing some good D and limiting the Otters to only one shot.

16:45 left 1st Half, UCLA 9 | CSUMB 1
Farmar with a highlight behind the back pass to Aaron for a dunk on a fast break. Nice. Another fast break bucket. It's nice to see that Howland will allow this team to run more. Should be an entertaining season.

15:52 left 1st Half, UCLA 9 | CSUMB 1
A Hollins offensive foul stops the clock for the first TV timeout. He got called for a hook as he made his move in the paint. Although it was called a foul by the official, it's nice to see Hollins a little more aggressive in the paint and not settling for the turnaround jumper.

15:14 left 1st Half, UCLA 9 | CSUMB 3
Aaron takes an awkward looking 3. Has he always had that hitch in his jumpshot? I don't think I noticed it before. Anyway, it feels like Aaron is forcing the game to come to him a little too much. Needs to settle back and join the flow of the offense and let the game come to him. Needs to stop pressing.

14:47 left 1st Half, UCLA 12 | CSUMB 3
Farmar hits a 3 from the wing. Shot looked almost perfect and it's encouraging to see that he still has a nice outside shot.

13:47 left 1st Half, UCLA 15 | CSUMB 5
Farmar hits another 3 at the top of the key after rubbing off a pick set by Ced. Also, Mata seems to be getting killed inside. Almost feels like he is a step slow right now. He does hustle though.

13:18 left 1st Half, UCLA 17 | CSUMB 5
Farmar flips a pass over to Aaron on a fast break for another score. Wow, another fast break bucket! I can't tell you how excited I am to see this. CSUMB calls a timeout. Will they be able to mount a little comeback and hang around this UCLA team? UCLA's lineup out of the timeout: Farmar, Collison, Mata, Roll, and Luc.

12:25 left 1st Half, UCLA 20 | CSUMB 5
Collison hits a 3 for the Bruins. What a great looking shot. I had read acconts from the first exhibition game that Darren was for real, but to watch him in person, wow. And he can shoot the rock. When was the last time we had this many players that could hit from outside on a consistent basis?

12:17 left 1st Half, UCLA 20 | CSUMB 5
Darren even plays defense! Great pressure D on their point almost forces a turnover.

12:06 left 1st Half, UCLA 22 | CSUMB 5
Damn, Collison is the real deal. He just made a nice drive to the rack for an easy layup. Quick first step. I dare teams to zone us when both he and Farmar are on the court together.

11:33 left 1st Half, UCLA 24 | CSUMB 8
Nice entry pass from Aaron to Hollins for a dunk. It's nice to see the players looking inside to the big men from time to time. It's also nice to see Ryan finish with authority!

10:31 left 1st Half, UCLA 26 | CSUMB 11
CSUMB hits a 3 off an Afflalo turnover which prompts howland to call a 20 second timeout. It seemed that the Bruins recovered on D from the turnover but someone missed their defensive assignment during the scramble and left an Otter wide open. It seems that Howland hates defensive brain farts like this.

10:21 left 1st Half, UCLA 26 | CSUMB 11
During this TV timeout I talked to the regulars that sit behind us about how Ced's free throw stroke really has improved. This will be key as it will be nice to have some senior leadership on the court down the stretch in close games without having to worry about free throw shooting. Good going Ced.

9:30 left 1st Half, UCLA 27 | CSUMB 11
IMHO, Aaron takes another ill-advised shot. Come on Aaron, settle down and let the game come to you.

8:45 left 1st Half, UCLA 30 | CSUMB 11
Wow, Darren is waaaaaaay too quick for the Otter point. He could take his guy off the dribble all game long. Collison gets fouled in the act of shooting, but only hits 1 of 2. Freshman Ryan Wright, #11, comes in for the first time and gets a nice offensive rebound off the missed free throw. Wright showed nice quickness to the ball.

8:33 left 1st Half, UCLA 33 | CSUMB 11
Great steal by Farmar which leads to a dunk at the other end by Ced. Wow, this team is quick, and they play in your face aggressive defense. Sure, this is a DII team they are playing against, but it's nice to see UCLA get out to a huge lead like this.

7:46 left 1st Half, UCLA 35 | CSUMB 11
Everything I read about the first exhibition game stated that Wright was going to be a project and looked a little raw out there. Well, he just hit a very nice lefty hook in the lane. I don't know about you, but he looks like a player to me.

7:26 left 1st Half, UCLA 35 | CSUMB 11
Another TV timeout. UCLA lineup out of the timeout: Farmar at the 1, Michael Roll #20 at the 2, Ced at the 3, Luc at the 4, and Wright at the 5.

7:16 left 1st Half, UCLA 36 | CSUMB 11
Ced grabs a nice O board and gets fouled in the act of shooting. Only makes one though. It's nice to see ced active on the boards, he must have a handful by now.

6:22 left 1st Half, UCLA 38 | CSUMB 11
Farmar blows by his defender and scores an uncontested layup because Wright sealed off his man in the key preventing the help from cutting Farmar off. Nice recognition by both players.

5:41 left 1st Half, UCLA 40 | CSUMB 11
Aaron makes a nice baseline drive for a layup and foul. Nice to see that he still has a great first step, and is able to take the ball up in traffic and score. Misses the free throw though. Still it's nice to see Aaron attacking the basket instead of settling for the outside shot.

5:20 left 1st Half, UCLA 40 | CSUMB 11
Luc almost gets a steal at the top of the key on defense. I gotta say, I really like our attacking/aggressive defense and our rebounding up to this point. Great job guys.

4:42 left 1st Half, UCLA 40 | CSUMB 11
Wow, another O board for Ced. Great job, and keep hitting the glass. I'm very encouraged about Ced's play so far in this game.

3:53 left 1st Half, UCLA 40 | CSUMB 13
Well, we've had our second defensive breakdown of the half. Sure, the first one was due to a scramble after a turnover, but there was no excuse for this one. Someone left a CSUMB player wide open under the basket for an easy layup. There wasn't a defender within 5 feet of him. Sure, we're up by 27 right now, but these kind of mental lapses cannot happen when the season begins next week.

3:51 left 1st Half, UCLA 40 | CSUMB 13
Final TV timeout of the half.

3:39 left 1st Half, UCLA 40 | CSUMB 13
Hollins makes a nice move in the key but can't finish. I think this is what is most frustrating about his UCLA career thus far, that he does something that makes you think he might break out, but then regresses again. Almost like after evey step forward he takes a step back. Hopefully he will become more consistent as the year goes on.

2:58 left 1st Half, UCLA 42 | CSUMB 13
More pressure D, this time Ced steals the ball and outlets to Aaron for an uncontested dunk. I'm really impressed with the D and the transition O. This team is definitely going to be fun to watch this year.

2:54 left 1st Half, UCLA 42 | CSUMB 15
#22 Kelvin Kim (walk-on freshman) makes his first appearance in the game with the Bruins up 27. Seems to be a crowd favorite. Doesn't seem lost out there at all.

2:35 left 1st Half, UCLA 42 | CSUMB 15
Is Roll the new gunner on the team? IMHO his pullup at the free throw line was forced and he ended up missing the shot. He seemed to be a litte off ballance when he let go of the ball. However, Wright used his quicks and fought for the O board. Ended up tying up an Otter player and with alternating possession the ball is awarded to CSUMB.

2:14 left 1st Half, UCLA 42 | CSUMB 15
Can't get over how quick our players are. It's amazing to see it in person. The strange thing is that even though they are playing quick, they aren't out of control. "Play quick, but don't hurry".......

2:09 left 1st Half, UCLA 44 | CSUMB 15
Kelvin Kim with the 2 and the student section goes wild!!!

1:38 left 1st Half, UCLA 47 | CSUMB 15
Luc just made a slick baseline drive around his man from the wing for the layup + 1 and hits the free throw. What a great first step, and it's nice to see the players attacking the basket.

1:21 left 1st Half, UCLA 50 | CSUMB 16
Darren shows off a nice hesitation dribble drive to the hole for a layup + 1 and hits the free throw. Wow, is there anything this guy can't do?

1:11 left 1st Half, UCLA 50 | CSUMB 16
Apparently not as Darren and Roll double team the opposing point just past the half court line and force a traveling call. Nice work. Did I already mention how much I like this pressure D? :)

0:48 left 1st Half, UCLA 53 | CSUMB 16
As Roll hits the 3 we get our first snide remark about Lavin from my dad about how it's nice to see couch run a play screening for a shooter like Roll after all those years of Lavin not doing it for Kapono (I'm paraphrasing here). I'm actually surprised the Lavin bashing didn't start sooner, but maybe my dad was too busy enjoying the flow of the game to bag on Lavin.

0:05 left 1st Half, UCLA 57 | CSUMB 16
Ok, finally something negative about Darren. He probably should have drove and dished to an open teammate instead of forcing his way in amongst the trees trying to draw contact. It worked in this case though and knocked down both free throws.

HALFTIME, UCLA 57 | CSUMB 16
Yes, you read that right. UCLA is up by 41 at halftime. Sure, it is only an exhibition game and CSUMB is a DII school. But to be beating anyone by 41 while holding them to only 16 points at the half is amazing. I never would have expected this.

Here is the scoring breakdown at the half:
Hollins 2
Kim 2
Mbah A Moute 3
Wright 4
Roll 6
Bozeman 8
Farmar 10
Afflalo 10
Collison 12

Some quick notes about the first half: the new players look really quick and athletic, our D was quick to react and we rebounded the ball really well which led to a lot of fast break opportunities and early offense. Collison is better than I thought he would be and Wright looked better than what I had read about him. I was also really encouraged about Ced's play in the half. Farmar had a solid game. Luc also looks like he will be a big contributor as the year goes on. On another note, the first super shot contestant almost hit the halfcourt shot (just a little short) and the final contestant, a female, hit the 3 right before the buzzer. Great job!


Wow, I sure have written a lot, and it's late. So, I will end this for now, and finish up the 2nd half sometime tomorrow probably. Until then...
Posted 1:15 AM by MZ

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