SoCal College Game Report

UCLA Wins Over UAB, 86-72--(November 29, 1997)

UCLA was ready to build an igloo to get warm. Put on the parkas. Call out the sled dogs. They were going to see if maybe they'd taken a wrong turn somewhere on their way to the Maui Invitational, and instead wound up on the frozen tundra.

UCLA played just mediocre basketball through three quarters of play. They were one quarter away from losing this game. Big time. UCLA trailed by 14 at the half. After the third quarter, the Bruins were losing to the University of Alabama at Birmingham by 8 points. And then they woke up, got warm, decided to take their coats off and stay a while. UCLA bombarded UAB, scoring 33 points in the last 10 minutes (the final quarter) of the game, and Toby Bailey exploded for 20 of his 28 points. Baron Davis hit for 22 points as the currently sixth-ranked Bruins managed to pull this one out of the icebox for an 86-72 victory. The Bruins (2-1) shot an impressive 67 percent in the second half, connecting on 18-of-27 shots from the field, and holding UAB to only 30 points in the second half, and only 11 points in the last quarter. J.R. Henderson added 21 points and 13 rebounds. The game was still tied at 70-70 with only 2:23 to play when Davis picked off a pass for the steal at midcourt and went in for the uncontested dunk. Bailey then nailed a three-pointer 16 seconds later to put the Bruins ahead to stay.

Willie Mitchell scored 19 points and Damon Cobb added 15 for UAB (2-4), which led at one point by as much as 18 points, 52-34 midway through the third quarter.

UCLA finished fifth in the tournament, out of an eight team group. Not very good, but not so bad either, considering what it would have felt like to lose to UAB. Now on with the Pac-10 show.

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