Pac-10 Men’s Basketball | UCLA defeats Maryland
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The shots weren’t falling and the ball seemed to sail out of bounds more often than it went in the basket.
Good thing UCLA can play defense.
Freshman Kevin Love scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, helping second-ranked UCLA overcome a sloppy first half in a 71-59 victory over Maryland on Monday night in the semifinals of the CBE Classic.
UCLA (4-0) had eight scholarship players in uniform because of injuries to several key players and it showed early with numerous turnovers and bad shots. But the Bruins, led by Love’s crisp passing against Maryland’s press, settled things down by the second half.
UCLA shot 37 percent, including 4 of 13 from three-point range, but outrebounded the Terrapins (3-1) by a 44-29 margin to reach the championship game tonight against No. 10 Michigan State.
“To win shooting 37 percent says a lot about our defense,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
Other men’s games
At Arizona 81, Missouri-Kansas City 62
Jerryd Bayless scored 20 points and added nine assists and nine rebounds, and the Wildcats (2-1) defeated the Kangaroos (1-3).
Bayless, a freshman from Phoenix, has led the Wildcats in scoring in two of his first three college games. Bayless made 5 of 7 shots from the field and connected on 8 of 9 attempts from the free-throw line.
At California 74, Nicholls St. 62
Ryan Anderson’s vision is just fine now. Anderson matched his career high with 27 points and also grabbed eight rebounds, leading the Golden Bears (2-0) past the Colonels (1-3) after he missed part of the opener because of blurred vision.
Cal’s Patrick Christopher also tied his career high, with 24 points, and had eight rebounds.
Illinois 77, Arizona State 54
Rodney Alexander scored 12 of his 17 points in a game-opening 20-0 run and the Illini (3-0) cruised past the Sun Devils (0-1) in the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Christian Polk scored 13 points for Arizona State (0-1), which started three freshmen in a season opener for the first time in school history.
NBA legend Michael Jordan was there to watch his son play for Illinois. Jeff Jordan, a freshman guard, had one point and an assist in 11 minutes.
Women
At No. 14 Arizona St. 84, Yale 38
Dymond Simon scored 17 points and sparked a 34-2 run in the first half to help the Sun Devils (2-1) overwhelm the Bulldogs (0-2), who are coached by ex-Washington coach Chris Gobrecht.
Briann January, who is from Spokane, added 13 points and six assists while Kirsten Thompson of Monroe had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Sun Devils.
Note
• Hip-hop performer Romeo signed a national letter of intent to attend USC.
Romeo, an actor and rapper whose full name is Percy Romeo Miller, is a senior guard at Beverly Hills High in California. His father, hip-hop mogul Master P, had tryouts with two NBA teams in the 1990s.