Basketball sizes up against top teams @supost.com

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Date: Mon, Nov 27, 2006, 08:00 AM

Coming into the EA Sports Maui Invitational, the UCLA basketball team was hoping to find out where it stacked up early on against the top teams in the nation. The Bruins? play and results in the tournament gave them the answer they were hoping to receive. The Bruins were able to make a positive statement by defeating two ranked opponents and avoiding an early loss ? a feat three of the preseason?s top six teams were unable to manage. ?I?m so excited about how we?re playing right now this early in the season,? UCLA coach Ben Howland said after the Bruins defeated Georgia Tech. ?You?ve got to remember, three good teams left this tournament 1-2. This is a hard place to play? After a long first day of action featuring six teams that figure to be nationally competitive, the Bruins took on host school Chaminade in the first round of the tournament. <div class=fright>SLIDESHOW<hr><a href=http://www.dailybruin.com/slideshows/2006/11/27/mbball_maui/slideshow.html>Click here to see a slideshow of photos from the 2006 EA Sports Maui Invitational.</a></div>The upset-minded Silverswords had plenty of support. Many of the fans had their bodies painted, and chants of ?Beat LA? echoed throughout the small Lahaina Civic Center gym as the game began. But behind the hot shooting of Arron Afflalo, the Bruins quickly put to rest any ideas of a Chaminade upset, jumping out to a big early lead which they would never relinquish. Next up for the Bruins was No. 20 Kentucky, which was coming off a close win over DePaul. Against Kentucky, the Bruins proved they could beat a top-25 team even while shooting the ball poorly. Afflalo had one of the toughest games of his career, going 1-8 from 3-point range and finishing the game just 5-18 from the field. And the Bruins as a team shot just 2-19 from behind the arc, while making only 13 of 24 free throws. The Wildcats, in comparison, made 18 of 25 free throws and 6 of 15 3-pointers, but the Bruins won the game with stingy defense and solid play inside from Lorenzo Mata and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. ?We were fortunate to come out on top,? Howland said after the game. ?It could easily be us with the ?L.?? The final of the tournament presented a whole new challenge for the Bruins. No. 19 Georgia Tech had been very impressive in victories over Purdue and Memphis. The Yellow Jackets? talented freshmen Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton looked extremely impressive in the team?s first two wins. And the Yellow Jackets? post players, particularly juniors Jeremis Smith and Ra?Sean Dickey, had absolutely dominated both Purdue and Memphis inside. Georgia Tech outrebounded its first two opponents, 77-52. But against UCLA, Dickey and Smith combined for nine points, 10 rebounds and five turnovers, and the Bruins actually outrebounded the Yellow Jackets, 33-31, while cruising to an 88-73 victory. ?I was really impressed watching Georgia Tech the first two days of the tournament,? Howland said after the Bruins? victory. ?It was a big emphasis on our part to try and hold our own on the boards, and I?m really pleased.? The Bruins ended up with a championship trophy to celebrate, and sophomore point guard Darren Collison humbly walked away with tournament MVP honors. <a href='; target='_blank'>;