“It would really help our confidence going into conference play”.
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The UCLA men’s basketball game Tuesday night was eerily similar to two harrowing losses from a year ago: the 39-point loss to Kentucky and the 32-point loss to Utah. “I know we came out a little slow”. “I feel like they had us rattled”. Selden finished the night with 25 points and six rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Photo by Joel B. Tamayo. They let Chaminade get into their rhythm from behind the arc (13 threes on 45 percent) and forced just 12 turnovers.
The Jayhawks, in fact, haven’t played Vanderbilt since December 1997, when the two teams met at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu.
But reason prevailed over the final 20 minutes, as the Rebels collected themselves, refocused on the defensive end and steamrolled the massive underdog en route to a 93-73 victory. “Coach (Self) just preaches defense, defense, defense”. “They just wanted us to go out and play a lot harder”. “The most important thing that we could grow into is understanding where our responsibilities lie as individuals and improvement, and as a team for how we can be collectively better”. The Rebels scored 23 fast-break points in the second half, after totaling 13 in the first half and just 10 in the entire UCLA game. “Give my guys credit at halftime”.
Kiran Shastri had 19 points for the Silverswords (0-5). This is, in part, because they have seen plenty of zone here in Maui. Durand Johnson and Amar Alibegovic also had career highs in points.
The St. John’s Red Storm had a tough start to the Maui Invitational, as they lost to Vanderbilt on Monday and IN on Tuesday. Photo By Joel B. Tamayo.
The victor of this game will leave the Maui Invitational as the fifth place team in the tournament. Vanderbilt never trailed in its first two games of the tournament and the first half of the title game…. Steals: 6 (Graham 3, Mason III 2, Selden Jr.). Christian Jones chipped in another 17 points and 11 rebounds along with Amar Alibegovic who added 17 points and four boards. Jones added a game-high 10 rebounds for the double-double. Thomas Welsh could only collect 6 points and 5 rebounds while Bryce Alford had 6 points and 2 rebounds. Vanderbilt will now take on Wake Forest, which was a surprise victor over IN in the first round.
IN shot 57.7 percent after hitting 43.3 percent against Wake Forest.
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They took control with their offense, shooting 62.5 percent (15 of 24) in the second half. Sophomore Patrick McCaw was close behind scoring 15. Selden stepped up and drilled his fourth three-pointer with 9:56 remaining, stretching the lead to 51-42. In three games here in Maui, Selden averaged 19.3 points and shot 70 percent from three-point range. Mussini has been the leading or co-leading scorer in all St. John’s games this season….
