SWEEP EMOTION

Each SC Dude Looks Like a Lady — Bruin fans not Lovin’ the Elevator ups and downs, but UCLA treats U$C like a Ragdoll, and gets Back in the Saddle with a Crazy 64-54 beatdown, completing an Amazing season sweep of the Cryin’ trojans

Dream On, trojans.  The Train Kept a Rollin’, and it’s the Same Old Song and Dance, as you just lost your 21st game of the year, in a 64-54 loss to your arch rival.

You gotta hand it to the trojans… because they can’t rebound.  No seriously, you gotta hand it to the trojans, for NOT QUITTING despite being totally out-manned and falling down by 23 points to UCLA early in the 2nd Half.  The trojans tried valiantly to stay in the game, cutting the lead all the way down to 10 with about a minute and a half left in the game.  But instead of using a full court press at that juncture — a strategy which has killed the Bruins in past games — and instead of fouling and sending the horrible UCLA Free Throw shooters to the Line, the trojans just played passively, as if they never had any hope of winning the game.  Head Coach Kevin O’Neill used his allotment of time outs, and the team didn’t quit, but when they had a chance for a miracle comeback, they just went completely zombie, and let UCLA run out the clock.  It was the stupidest game management I have ever seen.  UCLA is vulnerable to late-game comebacks, but the trojan brain trust just threw in the towel.  The 12 usc fans in the Sports Arena should have been ashamed.

To get their first sweep of sc in over a half-dozen years, UCLA dominated the game from the outset, by controlling the Paint over the vertically-challenged trojans.  As usual with short, weak teams, the Wear Twins excelled.  Both Travis and David recorded Double-Doubles, the first ever for Travis.  They each made 6 Field Goals, as did Guard Jerime Anderson.  That 6-6-6 was enough to burn the trojans, who shot a hellish 24% from the floor in the 1st half, and never could recover from the 15-point Halftime deficit.

SC’s star player Maurice Jones scored only 8 Points, on 3-11 shooting, as Ben Howland’s team ONCE AGAIN shut down the opposition’s best Offensive weapon.  Howland credited Tyler Lamb’s Defensive prowess for stopping the trojans’ Offensive attack.  SC still managed runs’ of 7-0 and 9-0, both in the 2nd half, to keep the game from getting completely out of hand, as UCLA hit a couple of cold (and sloppy) spells.  But the Bruins never lost control of the game, and the final result was never in doubt.

Below are FORTY-SIX game and CHEER photos from Wednesday night, with another 40+ in reserve, to be posted over the next few days, so come back to see the full complement.  The Bruins’ play might have been inconsistent, but the Spirit Squad was “in the zone” all night long.  It’s been a little while since I’ve seen the whole squad in person, and I swear, they got even more toned, and tight, than they were before.  They must be working out and practicing religiously.  And as usual, they were as NICE as humanly possible.  I love watching them perform, of course, but I love just as much getting to talk to them.  They are smart, funny, and completely down-to-earth.  Nowhere else will you ever find a group of girls who embody the perfect combination of beauty, brains, grace, and personality.  I feel more and more blessed, after every interaction with them.