November 27, 2010, UCLA-VCU Men's Pre-season NIT consolation game story for Orange County Register
Bruins miss opportunities, fall to VCU
NEW YORK – Ben Howland walked to towards the circle, his hands formed into the shape of a 'T,' and stared at the video replay on the scoreboard hanging overhead.
What he saw would give any coach indigestion, to say nothing of one who built his career and his programs with a defensive mentality.
A Virginia Commonwealth guard named Rob Brandenberg drove the lane and was bumped by Lazeric Jones, but not before the ball rolled off the VCU's freshman's fingertips and nestled softly through the net as a whistle blew. The basket was good and there was a foul. That Brandenberg missed the free throw was irrelevant.
Simply, it was an example of a collectively young team making a crucial mistake.
"This team we have has to develop," Howland said after UCLA lost to the Rams, 89-85, in the consolation game of the 2010 Pre-Season NIT at Madison Square Garden Friday afternoon. UCLA (3-2) will look back on their Thanksgiving excursion to New York City as a missed opportunity. The Bruins never had a lead in the 80 minutes they were on the court with Villanova (on Wednesday) and the Rams (4-1), but still had chances to win both games.
"This is a process," Howland said. He emphasized front court rebounding, defense, drawing fouls, not spotting opponents early leads, taking intelligent shots early in games and ball security as areas of improvement for his team. UCLA turned the ball over 21 times compared to the Rams' 13, and VCU turned those additional possessions into 24 points. "I think we'll be able to score. I think we'll have a team that can be able to put some points up on the board. But it doesn't do any good (when) we're putting up 85 tonight and the other team had four more. Eighty-nine points allowed is hard to win a lot of games."
Unlike the 82-50 loss to No. 7 Villanova, the Bruins had multiple opportunities to take a lead. Each time, they would miss a shot and the Rams would respond with a basket. VCU shot 48.5 percent from the field and an otherworldly 45.5 percent from three point range.
The best example of this occurrence took place 41 seconds into the second half. Malcolm Lee drew a foul on Bradford Burgess with the Bruins down one, 40-39. Lee missed both free throws and the Rams responded with a 10-2 run.
"I'm proud of our guys. I thought UCLA did a great job of making shots and rebounding," VCU coach Shaka Smart said. "Really proud of the way our guys battled."
Lee and VCU forward Jamie Skeen tied for the game high with 23 points apiece. Nelson Reeves added 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyler Honeycutt chipped in with 18 points and 13 boards.
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posted by Denis P. Gorman at 9:17 AM
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