LOS ANGELES – UCLA students packed the Sports Arena more than they had for any other Bruins' home game on Wednesday night for their matchup against USC. Their participation signaled a rivalry game.
The play on the court signaled otherwise.
USC played the role of visitors in the Sports Arena for the first time since 1965. They rarely looked comfortable early on.
They took quick shots. Their offense was stagnant. Individually, they took their turn at trying to create their own looks against a Bruins defense that wouldn't budge in a 64-54 UCLA win.
UCLA held the Trojans to 24 percent shooting in the first half. Like most of their season, USC's points were few and far in between.
"We did a good job early in the game," said Howland of the Bruins, who led 31-16 at halftime. "We really came out and set the tempo with our defense. We got out to a nice lead."
When the Trojans drove the lane, the Bruins were there to greet them and alter shots. They were even aggressive in doing so at times.
When USC guard Byron Wesley attempted a dunk in the first half, Joshua Smith went up hard to contest and Wesley plummeted to the floor, falling flat on his stomach. Smith was given a flagrant foul.
Offensively, UCLA (15-11, 8-6 Pac-12) relied on the length that has been so heavily discussed throughout the season. The source of that production was the Wear Twins.
They both registered double-doubles in a game for the first time this season – David, 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Travis contributed 14 and 11. It was the second career double-double for David and just the first for Travis.
The height was a sizable advantage against the Trojans (6-21, 1-13 Pac-12), who – other than 7-foot-1 James Blasczyk – didn't play anyone over 6-foot-7.
"We had an advantage on the offensive end. We were running a lot of sets to get the ball inside and it definitely helped us," said Travis. "Boxing out for them was a little bit of an issue as well. We were able to get in there and get tip outs and some easy offensive rebounds and putbacks."
The Bruins also got out in transition as well. Lazeric Jones pushed the break and set up Jerime Anderson, who made a nice touch pass to the trailer David Wear for a layup to put the Bruins up 61-42 late in the second half. It was a part of a stretch in which they scored 10 straight points.
It was play that warranted high praise from USC head coach Kevin O'Neill.
"Their front line, which I think – besides North Carolina – is the best in America, they're always going to have a chance to win games and they just wore us down tonight," said O'Neill.
The motivation for the Wear Twins was heightened after their disappointing play against Cal last Saturday, a loss in which they combined for just 14 points and eight rebounds.
"I was really disappointed after the Cal game. It was a tough loss," said David. "I was especially hard on myself just because of how I played. I only had one rebound that game, and that's just not acceptable."
While the Wear Twins fed off their own motivation, as a team, the Bruins ended the game on a rather lethargic note. They allowed USC to shoot 55 percent in the second half. UCLA led by as many as 23 points in the second, but allowed the Trojans to get to within 10 points. They pointed the finger to fatigue.
"I think a little bit was fatigue. A little bit was not staying as intense as we should have out there and just going with the flow of the game per se and not really forcing the issue of what we wanted the flow to be," said Jerime Anderson, who finished with 14 points and five assists.
Added Howland, "(USC has) been through as rough a year as you can have with all the adversity and injuries, so I give Kevin (O'Neill) and his whole staff a lot of credit for keeping those kids – down here at the very end of the season – fighting just like it's the beginning of the year."
The Bruins will take a break from Pac-12 play and visit the Big Apple to take on St. John's (10-16, 4-10 Big East) on Saturday. Last season, UCLA defeated the Red Storm 66-59 at Pauley Pavilion.
