Aboya Sparkles as Part of Cameroon Connection

The freshman from Cameroon was playing aggressively, snaring rebounds, getting a team-high point total and playing tough defense.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute?

Not Saturday at Bank of America Arena ,where Mbah a Moute, UCLA’s leading rebounder, spent all but three minutes in the first half against the Washington Huskies on the bench because of foul trouble.

But there’s another freshman forward on the Bruins from Cameroon, one who hasn’t been heard from much after arthroscopic surgery on both knees before the start of the season. Alfred Aboya, who was penciled in as a possible starter before his knees became a serious problem, demonstrated what he might be able to accomplish on two strong legs.

Aboya had 15 points and eight rebounds Saturday, both season highs in a season-high 31 minutes. Two of those points came on an impressive reverse bank shot.

“I am working hard to come back, but I am not there yet,” said Aboya.

That has to be a scary thought for UCLA’s future opponents.

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When he stepped to the free-throw line with 9.2 seconds to play and a chance to tie the score, freshman guard Darren Collison said he wasn’t nervous.

“I was kind of excited to be up there,” said Collison, who missed the first one, then made the second.

“I didn’t prove it with that first shot,” he said. “In the future, I would hope to calm down and have more composure.”

Although he was open in the corner at the end of the game when Jordan Farmar instead took the last shot himself and had it blocked, Collison wasn’t about to criticize the team’s starting point man.

“At the end of the game,” Collison said, “you want Jordan or Arron [Afflalo] to take the last shot.”