Thursday’s contest between the Bruins and Cardinals was nothing like the first meeting on Jan. 31, when UCLA won 97-63. UCLA’s defense has been lethargic and is nowhere close to what it was the last three years when the Bruins reached the Final Four each time. Playing on the road, the Bruins were sluggish defensively at the outset. But they overcame a 14-point deficit to take a 37-35 lead and eventually won the game 76-71. The game remained close and wasn’t decided until Bruins center Alfred Aboya made four free throws in the final 14 seconds.
Stanford did everything they could to stay in the game. Anthony Goods scored 18 points for Stanford, which has lost eight of 10 to endanger its postseason hopes despite a perfect nonconference record. Landry Fields added 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Josh Owens had 14 points for the Cardinal, who lost all three meetings with UCLA last season before receiving a 97-63 thrashing at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 31.
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Stanford pulled within 72-70 when Goods made one free throw with 41 seconds left. However, the Cardinal defense could not keep up with UCLA’s sensational player, Josh Shipp. Shipp’s end-to-end excellence gave UCLA four 3-pointers while scoring 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting. But most importantly, Shipp’s amazing skills gave UCLA a desperately need victory.
