Mata bounding back after recovery @supost.com

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Date: Thu, Dec 07, 2006, 08:00 AM

When UCLA assistant coach Kerry Keating told Lorenzo Mata how many rebounds he had recorded on Tuesday night as he walked toward the bench, the junior thought his coach was joking. ?I looked at him again, and I was like, ?Really? Sixteen?? I couldn?t believe it,? Mata explained. But coach Ben Howland had been waiting for his starting center to reach his potential and saw him do so in terms of rebounding against Cal State Fullerton. While having to deal with the tough task of defending big men who had the ability to play like guards, Mata was also able to position himself in all the right places to bring down boards on both the offensive and defensive ends. ?He was absolutely phenomenal on the glass,? Howland said of Mata. ?He goes for it every time. He?s just relentless when he?s going for the ball.? Mata has slowly been reintegrated into the Bruin lineup after undergoing knee surgery prior to the season. As his knee healed, Mata has seen his playing time increase, and he hopes to make the most of it for his team. ?Every minute I?m out there, every second I?m out there, I?m going to play hard and do what I do: try to block shots, get rebounds, score, and hopefully hit my free throws,? Mata said. Mata?s inability to make free throws on Tuesday was his only blemish of the game, as he went a mere 1-for-6 after missing four straight. When Mata made his first free throw, the crowd showed their support for him with some of their loudest cheers of the night. As Mata continues to work on his free throws, shooting over 100 each day after practice, he hopes to improve his rebounding as well. ?I?m just going to keep going out and try to get a new career high every game,? Mata said. ?Hopefully next game I?m going to try to get 17 rebounds. You never know. My confidence is definitely growing in every game.? DORRELL RINGS BELL: During halftime of Tuesday?s victory over the Titans, the UCLA football team was presented with the Victory Bell, which goes to the winner of the annual UCLA-USC football game. As his players stood behind him, football coach Karl Dorrell rang the bell in Westwood for the first time in eight years, as the Trojans had dominated the series recently, winning seven straight contests prior to Saturday?s Bruin victory. ?Seven years was too long for those guys to be beating us,? UCLA running back Chris Markey said. ?I?ve never even seen the Victory Bell, so it was just a great memory.? As the fans rose to give the team a standing ovation, Markey began jumping up and down, expressing his jubilation, reminiscent of the game itself. ?It was very memorable, and it?ll go down in history,? Markey said of the game. ?ESPN Classic.? WOODEN CLASSIC: The Bruins now go on to face No. 6 Texas A&M (7-1) on Saturday at the 13th annual John R. Wooden Classic in Anaheim. UCLA will be making its fourth consecutive appearance at the tournament, which will be played at the Honda Center. ?The Wooden Classic is something we always want to be involved in,? Howland said. ?It is a special opportunity for us to be involved in an event that carries the name of not only the greatest coach but one of the finest human beings on the planet.? The Aggies, who are coming off a 64-52 loss to No. 9 LSU, are the highest-ranked team that the Bruins have faced so far this season. UCLA won?t be overlooking that fact, as Howland has already warned his team of the Aggies? potential. ?(Texas A&M is) going to be more of a Pac-10-type team,? junior Arron Afflalo said. ?They have a great outside presence as well as a good inside presence.? <a href='; target='_blank'>;