Bruins Blush in a Hush

The ushers in Pauley Pavilion were instructed before Sunday’s basketball game not to discuss with spectators Saturday’s shellacking of the school’s football team by USC.

With that philosophy in mind, basketball also was a forbidden subject by halftime.

Facing Coppin State, a team that took the court 0-5, the Bruins, combining a lack of intensity with a lack of execution, were down by five points.

But in the second half, despite the laid-back atmosphere generated by a small crowd (6,044) for a Sunday matinee, UCLA refocused, kicked into high gear and won, 69-57, to improve to 6-1.

But the Bruins, who blew a 19-point lead against Albany in their previous game before rallying to win, know full well they must quickly break this nasty habit of losing concentration with the schedule about to take a sharp turn upwards in terms of level of competition. Dead ahead is Nevada in the Wooden Classic on Saturday, to be followed by Michigan in Ann Arbor on Dec. 17.

“It’s always tough when you know a team is 0-5,” said guard Arron Afflalo, who led the Bruins with 20 points, making seven of 12 shots from the field. “But there’s no excuse. It’s college basketball. Every team is good.”

Guard Jordan Farmar also was careful to avoid alibis.

“It’s definitely a concern,” he said. “Playing better teams, there won’t be any coming back.”

It wasn’t all negative. Farmar’s return less than a week after it was feared he had a stress fracture in his right foot was a big positive for the Bruins.

Farmar sprained the ankle Nov. 17 against Temple, sat out one game, then played in the next two despite the fact that the pain in the ankle lingered. When a stress fracture in the foot could not be ruled out by an MRI exam, Farmar sat out the Albany game Tuesday after having a second MRI exam. With the results of that test ruling out anything more than a sprain, he was back in the lineup Sunday.

Not only back, but looking like the Farmar of old, running the break, diving for loose balls and twisting and turning in the lane.

Farmar played a team-high 35 minutes, scored 16 points and had a career-high 10 assists.

Also on the court was freshman forward Alfred Aboya, making his first appearance after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on both knees before the season. Aboya played 16 minutes, getting two rebounds, but missed both of his shots.

“He was a little rusty,” Coach Ben Howland said. “He’s missed everything [in terms of practice]. But he plays so hard.”

Led by sophomore guard Tywain McKee, who had a game-high 21 points, the Eagles soared to a nine-point lead late in the first half before settling for a 35-30 edge at intermission.

Coppin State, playing in the sixth of 14 consecutive road games, tested UCLA’s patience with a slowdown offense at the start of the second half as it had for stretches of the first half.

“They try to lull you to sleep,” Howland said. “They take the air out of the ball. They don’t take a shot for the first 20 seconds [of every possession] unless they have an open layup.”

It quickly became obvious in the second half that the strategy wasn’t going to frustrate the Bruins any longer.

Two free throws by Afflalo with 16 minutes 18 seconds to play gave UCLA a 39-38 lead. It was a lead the Bruins would not relinquish as they shot 68.4% from the field in the final 20 minutes and dominated the backboards.

Overall, UCLA out-rebounded its opponent from Baltimore, 28-12, with the Bruins’ Luc Richard Mbah a Moute getting a game-high 10 rebounds.

What a relief for the Pauley Pavilion ushers. Finally, something to talk about as they bid the crowd farewell.