We’ve got ’em behind the 8-ball — Bruins Beat$C handily 85-74 behind huge nights from Tony Parker and Bryce Alford, making it EIGHT STRAIGHT beatings of the trojans in the two major sports
Eight is not enough… but it’s a damn good start! With Wednesday night’s 85-74 beatdown of troy in Basketball, UCLA has now beaten sc 5 straight times on the Hardwood — by an average of about 16 points a game — and 9 times out of 10. And if you add those 5 straight to the 3 straight in Football — also all by comfortable margins — that’s 8 straight triumphs over that Clown College across town in the two big revenue-producing sports.
Two years ago, UCLA and u$c each got new Basketball Head Coaches, and the trojans actually procured the much splashier hire, snatching Andy Enfield fresh off a miracle Final Four appearance with a small, unheard of school. Enfield immediately shot his mouth off in the Press, telling recruits if they want to play exciting ball, to come to u$c instead of UCLA. Well, after two seasons, Enfield is 0-4 against Steve Alford and UCLA. Not only that, but last night’s whipping stuffed the trojans into LAST PLACE in the Pac-12. It also clinched 4th place for UCLA, which earns them a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament.
The game at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night was actually a lot closer than expected. You have to give lowly sc a lot of credit for fighting back from an early 18-point first half deficit. The trojans had the margin at only 8 with less than 8 minutes to go in the game, before the Bruins expanded the lead to 16, to win handily.
The last few games it’s been Senior Norman Powell leading the way for the Bruins, but last night, on Senior Night, Powell’s last home game, he was the lowest-scoring Bruin starter, tallying only a dozen points. The trojans did their homework, and were able to keep Powell from making his trademark incisions of opposing defenses. But early on, the trojans had no answer for Tony Parker, who owned the paint and scored 22 points. It was his early domination of the key that opened things up for Bryce Alford, who sank his first 5 three-pointers on his way to a game-high 23 points. Freshman Kevon Looney added yet another double-double, with a not-so-unlucky 13 points and 13 rebounds to help send the trojans to their NINETEENTH loss of the season.
SC is playing a lot better now than they were early in the season, including a crushing victory over Washington last week. The trojans will play ASU in the first round of the Pac-12 Tourney, with the winner facing the Bruins. So, it’s possible that SUC could get one more crack at the Bruins. And because they kept the game close last night, they will have more confidence next time they meet UCLA, especially on a neutral court (in Vegas). It will be up to Coach Alford to keep the Bruins motivated and not complacent, in order to run the streak to NINE straight BB and FB victories over the hapless trojans.
Speaking of winning streaks… Below are 19 more never-before-seen photos of the UCLA Spirit Squad, taken at Football games during this past season.
