National Basketball Association
Middle Tennessee St. 86, UCLA 66
When: 11:00 PM ET, Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Where: Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
Officials:
# Verne Harris, # Mike Littlewood, # Randy McCall
Attendance:
4758
By SportsDirect Inc.
The Los Angeles Sports Arena has been anything but a friendly home for UCLA.
Heavy underdog Middle Tennessee led most of the game by double digits on the way to an 86-66 rout over the Bruins on Tuesday. It was the second straight setback at the Sports Arena to start the season as UCLA is forced to play off campus due to the renovation of Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins played without star forward Reeves Nelson, who was suspended by coach Ben Howland for conduct unbecoming a team member, and trailed throughout.
Middle Tennessee (3-0) hit its first nine 3-pointers and led by as many as 22 in the second half of the first-round game of the Maui Invitational.
Nelson is expected to meet with Howland later in the week to discuss his future with the team and the Bruins looked like they need him badly. While the Blue Raiders shot 71 percent from the field in the game, UCLA shot just 39 percent and played little defense.
LaRon Dendy led five players in double figures for the Blue Raiders with 16 points and Marcos Knight added 15.
Josh Smith had a team-high 15 points and Travis Wear ended with 10 for the Bruins, who fell to Loyola Marymount in their opener at the Sports Arena.
Top Game Performances
| Middle Tennessee St. |
|
UCLA |
|
LaRon Dendy 16 |
Scoring |
Joshua Smith 15 |
|
LaRon Dendy 4 |
Assists |
Jerime Anderson 6 |
|
LaRon Dendy 13 |
Rebounds |
Joshua Smith 9 |
|
LaRon Dendy 3 |
Free Throws Made |
De'End Parker 3 |
|
LaRon Dendy 2 |
Steals |
Lazeric Jones 3 |
|
LaRon Dendy 2 |
Blocks |
N/A |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Middle Tennessee St.
|
86 |
71.4 |
10-11 |
6-13 |
18 |
32 |
3 |
7 |
|
| UCLA
|
66 |
37.3 |
4-20 |
12-18 |
17 |
27 |
0 |
9 |
|