Feb. 18, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Reeves Nelson had 18 points and seven rebounds while Tyler Honeycutt added 16 points, as UCLA beat Stanford 69-65 on Thursday night to tie a season high with its sixth straight victory.
Joshua Smith added 13 points and nine rebounds to help the Bruins (19-7, 10-3 Pac-10) overcome a slow start, build a 16-point lead and hold on late. UCLA held Stanford to 44.4 percent shooting and outrebounded the Cardinal 35-26 to stay one game back of Arizona for the conference lead.
Jeremy Green scored a season-high 27 points and Anthony Brown finished with 15 points for the Cardinal (13-12, 6-8 Pac-10), which was swept in the season series against UCLA while falling to another Pac-10 opponent on their home floor.
UCLA overcame 17 turnovers thanks to 9-17 shooting from beyond the arc and a 16-25 clip from the free throw line. Stanford was 9-19 from three-point territory but just 8-14 from the foul line.
Green nailed five three-pointers, moving into sole possession of third place on Stanford's all-time list of three-pointers made. Green now has 209 after surpassing Anthony Goods' mark of 206.
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Head coach Johnny Dawkins
On the defeat:
"I think UCLA did a good job of executing and they were defensively sound. They made a couple of adjustments and played well. I thought at times we played well, but it was in spurts. You're not going to win a game like this unless you play the full 40 minutes. We didn't deserve it based on our performance. I thought we did a good job at times, but we just didn't do it consistently."
On the missed free throws:
"It's difficult. We have to be able to put ourselves in a position to be fouled more and compete in that area. It's something that we can do, but we have to continue to work at that as our guys start to get a feel at this level. I think they'll learn it, but it's a process for some of these kids. They'll get better in that area and we'll be able to put ourselves in a position for more contact."
Junior guard Jeremy Green
On his season-high 27-point outing:
"I wasn't thinking about that so much. I was thinking about just trying to get stops and keep cutting the lead. I was trying to make plays to keep our team in the game, but I didn't make enough plays. I had a chance to close it out at the end, but I turned it over and missed a shot, so that's on me."
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UCLA Head coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement:
"That's a great win for us on the road. It's good to get into double figures (in wins) in the conference. We're now 18-0 with a 10-point lead. We're great for television ratings, for keeping the fans involved for the sponsors all the way to the very end. We should get some accommodation for that, I think. They played great last week at Washington State. Stanford only went to the zone a couple of times, and when they did, we attacked it and got some great shots. I thought they'd play a little more zone, just based on the way they've been playing last week."
On the play of Nelson and Honeycutt:
"Reeves Nelson made some big plays for us, like the driving layup he made starting at the top of the key when we were up only six (47-41, with 11:19 left in the second half). He put us back up by eight and that got us back going again. Honeycutt got us going early in the game by knocking down a bunch of shots, which was good for him. We still are making turnovers which we are forcing ourselves; we need to grow and get better at that."
On defending Stanford's top scorers:
"Malcolm (Lee) did a tremendous job on Green in the first half. The one time he didn't trail with the body along the baseline, that's what got Green going. Green's a great player. I think he might be one of the most underrated players in the country. That jump shot of his is lethal. I also thought Anthony Brown was really good for them tonight. He's really growing up in a hurry."