The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
UCLA
No. 8/8 Men's Basketball defeats No. 12/9 UCLA, 68-64
12.04.2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2008
Box Score [PDF] | Notes | Quotes
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A.J. Abrams' shooting touch and some rock-solid team defense keep getting it done for Texas.
Abrams matched his career high with 31 points, including the last six of the game for the Longhorns, sending No. 8 Texas to a rugged 68-64 victory over No. 12 UCLA on Thursday night.
Abrams broke a 62-62 tie with a 3-pointer with 2:53 to play, then made two free throws a minute later to push Texas' lead back to three. After the Bruins' Josh Shipp missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 15 seconds left, Shipp fouled Abrams who made one of his two free throws for the final point.
"Our guys made plays at the end," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "When we get settled into our defense, we're a pretty hard team to score against. ... We talked about going out there to scrap."
The Longhorns (6-1) held UCLA (4-2) scoreless after Alfred Aboya's basket with 2:28 left pulled the Bruins within 65-64.
Damion James added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Longhorns, including a big grab after Shipp missed his free throw. James' basket with 3:46 to play tied it at 62.
Darren Collison scored 22 points and Shipp added 15 to lead the Bruins.
The Longhorns have won nine straight at home against ranked opponents. The Bruins and Longhorns have met only four times and this one proved every bit as exciting as Texas' 63-61 road win last season.
The matchup produced a rare early season sellout at Texas and the game got testy at times as both teams played physical defense and challenged each other around the basket on nearly every shot.
James took a hard elbow to the face from Shipp under the basket with seven minutes left in the first half and fell to the court. The game officials reviewed video of the play while the home crowd lustily booed Shipp, but did not assess a foul.
"He took a tough shot to the face. I think it kind of rattled him. I don't think he could see for a while," Abrams said.
"I wasn't trying to elbow him in the face. It was unintentional," Shipp said. "I was just trying to clear space. We're both competitors, trying to help our teams win."
James went to the bench for the next four minutes, but even with him out, Texas used a 9-2 run to open a 32-24 lead. Abrams made his third 3-pointer of the half, then made three free throws when he was fouled behind the arc to send Texas into halftime leading 38-29.
Texas led 46-36 before the Bruins rallied and grabbed the lead with a 13-2 run behind a 3-pointer from Nikola Dragovic and consecutive dunks by Shipp. Shipp got the crowd riled up again when he turned and stared at Texas' Justin Mason after the first dunk.
The game stayed tight from there as the Longhorns and Bruins traded one-point leads or were tied 10 times the rest of the way.
"We made a lot of mistakes tonight," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "It was good that we were able to fight back from a 10-point deficit in the second half to take the lead. Their two best players stepped up for them tonight."
James tied it first, then Abrams hit the big 3-pointer for the lead.
"It was a big shot," Abrams said of his 3. "At that point we were struggling at offense and we hadn't hit a bucket in a while."
The Bruins had several chances after Abrams' two free throws made it 67-64 with 1:49 to play. UCLA struggled to get an open look until Aboya missed with 35 seconds left. James snagged the rebound, but Shipp tied up the ball allowing the Bruins to keep possession.
On the inbounds, UCLA got the ball to Collison, who missed a 3-pointer before Abrams fouled Shipp to send him to the line. Shipp misfired on the first attempt and the ball bounced high off the rim for James to grab.
When Abrams finally got to the free throw line, the Longhorns' best shooter nearly fell to the floor in surprise when he missed the first, but calmly swished the second for the final margin. It was Abrams' only miss in nine attempts from the line.
"That was a huge win for us," Mason said.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas won its ninth straight home game against AP Top 25 opponents
- Texas improved to 73-7 (.913) in non-conference home games during the Rick Barnes era, including winning 67 of their last 69 non-conference home contests
- Texas improved to 142-18 (.888) at the Erwin Center during the Rick Barnes era, including winning 96 of its last 102 home contests
- The attendance for the game was 16,755, the first sellout of the 2008-09 season
- Texas won its fourth consecutive game against a Pac-10 Conference school
- Texas blocked six or more shots for the sixth time this season
- Texas is 157-14 (.918) in the Coach Barnes era when holding its opponent under 40% FG shooting
A.J. Abrams
- Scored 10 or more points for the sixth time this season and the 74th time in 115 career games
- Scored 20 or more points for the third time this season and the 26th time in his career
- Scored 30 or more points for the first time this season and the third time in his career
- Scored equaled a career-high 31 points, tying the output he had against New Mexico State last season.
- Made a career-high eight free throws, topping the seven he posted at Oklahoma State in 2006-07
- Passed B.J. Taylor (1,502 - 1992-94) to move into 10th place on the UT all-time scoring list with 1,515 points
Damion James
- Scored 10 or more points for the seventh time this season and the 45th time in 80 career games
- Logged his third double-double of the season and the 24th of his career
- Grabbed 10 or more rebounds for the third time this season and the 30th time in his career
- Logged a season-high 13 rebounds, topping the 12 he posted in two earlier games.
Justin Mason
- Logged six or more assists for the third time this season
TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On UCLA: They're really good at controlling the tempo. They were really good at pushing the tempo and I thought the first half we managed to get control of the game. In the second half, they had control for most of the time, but we managed to seize it back for the last few minutes. They have some guys that can play and they showed a lot of character and heart and you expect that from Ben [Howland's] team. Tonight was a good win for us.
On his players: We persevered. Damion James came up with two big rebounds in traffic that were huge. He knocked down some big shots. Gary also made some big shots. Dex did what we needed him to do early in the second half. We did not handle the ball screen situation like we thought. We were jumpy. We were hanging too long and we weren't getting the stunt from the wing. I do think that we came up with some big defensive plays when we had to. A big play was when UCLA in bounded to the corner and we got a big trap in the corner and it ended up taking some second off the clock. That was a big possession and we stayed aggressive there. Coming back from the Notre Dame and winning one like this was big for us.
On what they need to improve on: We need to drive the ball. We had them in foul trouble and we had to drive and be aggressive, but we didn't do that. We play hard on defense and sometimes it's as if we're standing on offense waiting for someone to do something. Defensively when we get settled into our defense, we've been a pretty hard team to score against.
On being aggressive and going after the ball: You have to go get it. We talked about that and we knew we were going to have to scrap. When you're down and the ball goes down, you have to go get it. I thought UCLA stepped up their intensity and they got physical at the start of the second half, but at the end we got back in and Damion's rebounds and Justin's steals were huge. I liked our demeanor, we came out of that last timeout and everyone were relaxed because they've been in this kind of game before.
SENIOR GUARD A.J. Abrams
On tonight's win: It's a good win for us. We kind of showed what we've been working on in practice. Tonight we got a lot of ball movement and player movement, but we got stagnant at times. On defense, we wanted to come out and pressure them and I think tonight's effort is a result of practice.
On the game plan: It was no different tonight. We have been working on our offense and concentrating on screening. We wanted to hit our post man and fortunately [Justin] Mason was doing a good job of getting me the ball and I had the shot. My teammates were doing a great job creating the open shots.
On the fans tonight: Our fans were great to night. They came out early and were loud throughout the whole game. With that kind of support, you don't want to let them down and with them coming to the game, it gave us an extra boost of energy.
JUNIOR GUARD Justin Mason
On letting their 10-point lead go: I wouldn't say that [the lead] was slipping away from us. We needed to regroup and get back on track and sustain the great run they had. They went on a great run and give a lot of credit to them. They kept fighting until the end.
On the magnitude of tonight's win: It's a great win for us obviously coming off the Hawaii trip and having a tough opponent like UCLA it was great for us and it was great for our fans to come out and support such a big game.
UCLA QUOTES
HEAD COACH BEN HOWLAND
Opening statement: It's a tough loss we experienced today against a good team. Like I said they have chance to be at Detroit at the end of the season, so I was glad that in the last three minutes we even stood a chance. We made a lot of mistakes tonight and we'll go back and watch the film. We had a hard time. Their two best players really stepped up for them. [A.J.] Abrams was just terrific. He hit a lot of shots for Texas, and James played well tonight. Our leaders tonight were Shipp and Collison, they really lead our team tonight and did a lot to keep us in the game.
On what UCLA needs to work on: We forget little things, like leaving (Connor) Atchley open. And, there's just a lot of different plays we need to work on. It's plays, not one specific aspect of the game. We're a young team, and we've just got to keep working. I was overall pleased. And have a chance to win with 3 minutes to go is a good sign for our team.
On Texas: I think that they're a lot further ahead than we are. We don't have that level of returning like they do, either. This is a very, very good Texas team and even though we lost, I'm pleased we showed a lot of grit tonight and didn't give up. James and Abrams made a lot of good shots for them. I think Mason's doing a good job; I really like Mason. He's a better defender than (D.J.) Augustin. He adds a different dimension. Overall, our team did a great job, especially our three seniors.
SENIOR GUARD DARREN COLLISON
On UCLA'S loss: We have a lot of new guys and it's going to take us a couple of weeks to get back on the same page. We made a lot of mistakes out there, both offensively and defensively. Basketball is a five-man game and once we pull together, we'll be fine.
On what makes guarding A.J. Abrams hard: His ability to shoot the ball so quickly. He does not leave a lot of space. He hits the shot fast. You can't loose sight of him; you have to know where he is. I thought he did a good job against us, shooting the ball and putting pressure on us.
SENIOR GUARD JOSH SHIPP
On the today's game: It was like a tournament game. It was really physical, and at the end of the game, whoever is the most physical would win.
On guarding Damion James: I wasn't trying to elbow him in the face. It was unintentional. I was just trying to clear space. We're both competitors, trying to help our teams win. He rebounds well, and he's shooting the ball really well. He's done a little bit of everything, and I was impressed with his overall game.
On how his offensive game has improved: I'm taking more opportunities, when the offenses open up, and I'm able to show what I can do.
