LOS ANGELES (AP) -- No. 18 UCLA used its depth to pull away from a halftime tie with UC Santa Barbara.
Jordan Adams scored 22 points and Kyle Anderson added 21 to lead UCLA to an 89-76 victory Tuesday night.
"We're driving the ball very hard, and
think we're hard to guard in transition,' ` UCLA coach Steve Alford
said. "We've got so many weapons. There are so many guys who can make
shots. It's not just one guy getting to the line, or one guy making
shots."
One player who did make a big shot for the Bruins is very familiar to Alford.
Bryce Alford, the son of the UCLA coach,
hit a 3-pointer with 8:04 remaining in the second half, snapping a
65-all tie and sparking a 7-0 run.
With chants of "over-rated" emanating
from the Santa Barbara fans sitting on the east end of Pauley Pavilion,
Alford's 3 was followed by a dunk by Tony Parker and two free throws by
Norman Powell. The Bruins (8-0) held the Gauchos (3-3) to nine points
the rest of the way.
Alan Williams, who scored a
school-record 39 points in the Gauchos' last game against South Dakota
State, had 23 points, just six in the first half, which finished tied at
42.
Tony Parker was given the task of
guarding Williams but he was on the bench with two fouls after playing
for 1:53. Parker, though, was instrumental in holding the Gauchos to 46
percent shooting in the second half after they shot 60 percent in the
first.
"I think Tony did a very good job in the
second half of discouraging the ball in the post instead of reaching in
and picking up that foul," Anderson said. "It's rough. We don't want
any of our teammates to go to the bench early because of foul trouble.
We needed Tony. He did a much better job in the second half."
With UCLA intent on double-teaming Williams in the first half, Santa Barbara turned to its outside shooting to keep pace.
"They made some shots," Steve Alford
said of the Gauchos' first half. "They made some NBA 3s. Bryson had a
very special first half."
Michael Bryson, who entered the game
averaging 12.2 points, had all of his season-high 15 by halftime, thanks
to 3-for-3 shooting from 3-point range. He finished 6 of 10 from the
field, 3 of 5 on 3s, and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Kyle Bosworth had nine points in each half and was 5 of 9 from 3-point range.
With Parker handling Williams and the
long-range shooters under control, the Gauchos saw their turnovers (17)
increase. Missed free throws (7 of 12) also hurt the Gauchos.
"Shooting was not the issue of this
game," UC Santa Barbara coach Bob Williams said. "The free throw line
and turnovers were the real difference in this game.
"UCLA did a nice job on Bryson and
Kyle. The only way we could play with them was by shooting the 3 or
giving the ball to Alan inside. We had to do both."
Williams had some close looks inside but couldn't convert.
"Even though we led during certain
points of the game, there are no moral victories for this team,"
Williams said. "I know that in the second half, I have to deliver, and I
missed a few cheapies, however I was able to knock down a couple of
shots to help."
Alford finished with nine points and the big 3 was his only one of the game.
The Bruins trailed by as many as six
points in the first half but relied on the outside shooting of Zach
LaVine, who scored five consecutive points to cut Santa Barbara's lead
to one point with 3:11 in the first half.
The Bruins finished 27 of 36 from the free throw line, with most of them coming in the closing minutes.
