DePaul University Athletics
UCLA Beats DePaul
12/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Mac Koshwal scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds but UCLA was able to stop the Blue Demons, 72-54, on Saturday in the Wooden Classic at the Honda Center.
Josh Shipp and Jrue Holiday scored 14 points each and UCLA giving head coach Ben Howland his 300th career victory.
Howland improved to 300-146, including stints at Northern Arizona and Pittsburgh.
Darren Collison added 10 points and five assists and Nikola Dragovic had 10 points for the Bruins (6-2). Freshman walk-on Tyler Trapani, Wooden's great-grandson, got into a game for the first time this season with 1:29 remaining. He missed his only shot, a 3-pointer.
"One of the things that separates teams is leadership," DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright said. "I told Darren Collison that I really appreciated the fact he decided to come back his senior year. Guys like that are important to college basketball."
Koshwal’s 12 points and eight rebounds led the Blue Demons (4-4) in the teams' first meeting on a neutral court since 1980, when the Bruins defeated DePaul in the NCAA tournament a year after the Blue Demons surprised UCLA to reach their only Final Four.
"It was kind of tough," Koshwal said. "Every time I got the ball, I got double-teamed or I had a great defender on me."
Dar Tucker, the Blue Demons' leading scorer, had 11 points after not starting for the first time this season because of "attitude issues," according to Wainwright.
"It's a really little thing and he accepted it," Wainwright said.
Jeremiah Kelly's 3-pointer with 10:22 left got DePaul within 13 but the Blue Demons couldn't get any closer down the stretch.
"They have three seniors that are battle-tested," Wainwright said. "We have a very young team and we're kind of finding our way.
"When you make a mistake, they really get out and go. They convert mistakes into points really quickly."
The Bruins soon built their lead back to 20 on consecutive baskets by Shipp in a game in which they ran a lot.
"We still start on the defensive end, which is what we did when I was in the Big East at Pittsburgh," Howland said. "We definitely want to push the ball. We got guys who can run and push the ball. When we get stops we want to take advantage of that."
The Bruins outscored the Blue Demons 22-8 to end the half with a 35-19 lead -- their largest of the first 20 minutes. UCLA got balanced scoring, including 10 points from its reserves in the spurt, and held the Blue Demons to 38 percent shooting from the floor. UCLA improved to 8-3 in 12 Wooden Classic appearances, including 8-0 as a ranked team.
Notable
Dar Tucker has now scored in double figures in 11 consecutive games dating back to last season.
DePaul’s Mario Stula made his collegiate debut playing 18 minutes without scoring.
Mac Koshwal has led the Blue Demons in rebounding in every game he’s played this season.
Series Notes
UCLA now leads 12-6.
This was the third meeting between the two on a neutral floor with UCLA now holding a 2-1 advantage.
Up Next
DePaul returns home on Wednesday to host Liberty in the first round of the Las Vegas Classic. The 7:30 p.m. (CST) game will be broadcast at www.depaulbluedemons.com.