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GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Hofstra's Jay Wright is often mistaken for Steve Lavin. Too bad he can't trade places with the UCLA coach. The Bruins made sure that Wright's Pride did not record their first NCAA Tournament victory by dominating the final nine minutes of a 61-48 East Region victory at the Greensboro Coliseum. UCLA (22-8), seeded fourth, closed the game on a 20-3 run and held 13th-seeded Hofstra (26-5) scoreless from the field during the span as it advanced to a second-round game against Utah State on Saturday. "Our hats are off to Hofstra, Coach Wright, his staff and his team," Lavin said. "They had a good game plan, they were well prepared adn they executed to perfection for 30-plus minutes. We were fortunate to find a way to win." The Pride's national-best winning streak ended at 18 games as Wright lost to his good friend, Lavin. The two coaches look similar and Wright, who has been an assistant at Nevada-Las Vegas and Villanova, might also be heading for a job at a big-time program. "I'd like to congratulate UCLA. They played a great defensive game," said Wright. "We played a very good first half, but we had poor execution in the second half. But you've got to give UCLA credit for that. We're a little down that we didn't win, but we'll learn from it and move on." Earl Watson had 15 points and seven assists for the Bruins, who took the lead for good on a follow by Dan Gadzuric with 7:20 remaining that made it 46-45. UCLA pressed the America East Conference champions for the final 20 minutes after the Pride stormed to a 33-29 halftime lead behind seven 3-pointers and 11 points apiece by Jason Hernandez and Rick Apodaca. "We extended and did a better job guarding their pick-and-roll screens at the top (in the second half)," said Lavin. "We did a better job switching on their 3-point shooters. Our zone defense and being more aggressive on the ball made it so they couldn't window shop and get good looks." But Hofstra committed several turnovers in a second half in which he managed just four field goals and 15 points. The Pride were outscored, 24-5, after a 3-pointer by Apodaca had provided a 43-37 advantage with just under 13 minutes remaining. Hernandez did not score in the second half as UCLA took control of the game despite receiving just seven points on the afternoon from guard Jason Kapono, who entered as the Bruins' leading scorer (17.7 ppg). "The first-round games seems to be the hardest, plus playing a 13th seed that had been playing well was tough," said Kapono. "They tried to slow the ball down and that caused some problems for us." Behind the 6-11 Gadzuric's 14 points and 13 rebounds, UCLA held a 34-8 advantage in the point despite being outrebounded, 32-29. Billy Knight scored 17 points for the Bruins, who forced 21 turnovers whiole connecting on 47 percent (25-of-53) of their shots. Apodaca had 16 points and America East Player of the Year Norman Richardson contributed 12 with five rebounds for the Pride, who were 9-of-25 from 3-point range en route to a 36 percent (15-of-42) performance from the floor. "We wanted to take advantage against their pressure," said Wright. "It's so difficult to simulate that kind of pressure. Even when we threw passes up the floor, they recovered so quickly. I was very impressed with how they limited our opportunities." After Gadzuric put the Bruins on top to stay, Matt Barnes converted a layup with just under seven minutes left. Following a timeout, Roberto Gittens went 1-of-2 from the line for Hofstra, but Barnes spun for another layup and Knight drilled a 3-pointer. Apodaca had Hofstra's final two points of the night from the stripe before Barnes fed Watson for an alley-oop dunk and Gadzuric scored in the lane for a 57-48 bulge with 90 seconds to play. "Getting into the half, we emphasized getting a couple more stops and trying to hold them under 35 percent shooting," said Watson. "We ended up doing better than that. That's the great thing about playing for UCLA -- everybody wants to beat you." The Pride, who lost to Oklahoma State in the opening round last season, fell to 0-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. "Last year's first-round game was totally different," said Richardson. "Oklahoma State was much bigger, more physical, and played a half-court game. UCLA runs the court, and they play so hard on defense." UCLA has won four of its last five first-round games and on Saturday will be seeking a second straight trip to the "Sweet 16." . |
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