open three-pointers. They
are getting outclassed by
more veteran, savvy teams.
BYU took advantage of
all of those shortcomings
while closing the game on a
27-11 run to hand UCLA its
first losing streak under
coach Mick Cronin.
“We couldn’t finish the
game,” Cronin said after ap-
pearing in the media room
about half an hour after the
game ended. “We’re a young
team still figuring it out,
finding our way, but they
made it hard on us so you
have to always give the other
team credit.”
Losers of two games in a
row, the Bruins (4-2) will face
Chaminade on Tuesday
afternoon in a consolation
game, with a possible
matchup against No. 3 Mich-
igan State awaiting should
UCLA get past the NCAA
Division II Silverswords.
There’s no guarantee given
the way UCLA is playing de-
fense under a coach known
for getting his players to stop
the other team.
BYU (4-2) shot 62% and
made nine of 18 three-point-
ers, becoming the second
consecutive team to make
half of its shots beyond the
arc against UCLA. The
Cougars scored 40 points in
the paint.
Guard Jules Bernard
came off the bench to score a
team-high 16 points for the
Bruins, who did not get the
sort of bounce-back per-
formance they were seeking
after losing to Hofstra by 10
points at home.
“We played for about 30
minutes strong on defense
and then we let off the gas,”
Bernard said, “so it’s just
about sustaining our effort
on defense and focusing on
what teams do, especially a
team like BYU that runs its
offense really well.”
Things looked promising
for UCLA when Chris Smith
made a driving layup to give
the Bruins a 52-51 lead with 1 1
minutes 19 seconds left and
they got the ball back, but
Cody Riley committed an of-
fensive foul, one of four turn-
overs that sparked BYU’s
game-deciding 10-0 run.
Cronin said he told the
team it needed to limit its
turnovers to eight or fewer
but the Bruins piled up 13.
Smith scored four points
in his second consecutive
clunker. Point guard Tyger
Campbell scored five early
points but finished with 11
points in 22 minutes. Guard
Prince Ali returned from an
apparent ankle injury to
score 10 points.
The Bruins shot 45.5%
but struggled from the free-
throw line, making eight of 15
attempts.
“In the last five years of
my career,” Cronin said of
the time before arriving at
UCLA, “you’d struggle to
find a loss where we shot
45%. We’re not just there de-
fensively and [with] re-
bounding. So our shooting
percentage isn’t the issue.
On offense, our turnovers
are our problem.”
Guard Jake Toolson had
20 points and guard TJ
Haws had 15 for BYU, which
will face Kansas on Tuesday
in a semifinal.
Cronin said before the
start of the tournament that
he had to remind himself
that the onus was on him,
and not the players, to shep-
herd the Bruins through
their struggles in their first
season together. But his
players need to do their part
as well when things trend in
the wrong direction.
“It’s like I told the guys,
you have two choices,”
Cronin said. “You can quit
and go home, make excuses
— it seems to be popular in
today’s society with young
people — or you can stand
and fight and learn how to be
a guy that can defend, learn
how to be a guy that never
gets beat, learn how to be a
guy that never turns the ball
over, learn how to be a guy
that remembers the offense
and can execute. You got to
stay in the ring and fight.”Bruins can’t keep it
together at the end
LATIMES.COM/SPORTS S TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2019D5
BASKETBALL
Lakers 114, Spurs 104
LAKERS
Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T
Davis ................327-19 4-4 6-12 6 3 19
James...............3513-24 3-8 0-3 14 2 33
McGee..............21 4-5 0-0 1-6 0 2 8
Caldwell-Pope.....28 5-7 1-2 0-1 1 1 14
Green................28 3-7 0-0 2-9 1 1 6
Rondo ...............24 5-9 0-0 1-5 3 2 13
Kuzma...............233-10 4-4 0-3 2 1 10
Howard .............17 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 5 0
Daniels .............15 4-6 0-0 0-0 0 0 11
Caruso ..............13 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
Totals 44-89 12-18 10-40 28 18 114
Shooting: Field goals, 49.4%; free throws, 66.7%
Three-point goals: 14-33 (James 4-7, Daniels 3-3,
Rondo 3-3, Caldwell-Pope 3-5, Davis 1-6, Caruso 0-2,
Kuzma 0-3, Green 0-4). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turn-
overs: 9 (16 PTS). Blocked Shots: 6 (Davis 2, Caldwell-
Pope, Green, James, McGee). Turnovers: 9 (James 3,
Rondo 3, Caldwell-Pope 2, Kuzma). Steals: 7 (Caldwell-
Pope 2, Davis 2, Daniels, Howard, Rondo). Technical
Fouls: Howard, 1:14 second.
SAN ANTONIO
Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T
Aldridge.............3612-22 5-6 1-5 0 1 30
DeRozan............3511-19 2-2 0-4 5 4 24
Poeltl................23 1-5 2-2 3-8 1 0 4
Forbes...............295-11 0-0 0-3 5 2 13
White................25 5-6 0-1 0-0 4 1 11
Murray ..............21 2-6 0-0 1-8 3 2 5
Mills.................20 2-6 0-0 0-1 2 2 6
Gay...................17 2-5 0-0 0-1 0 4 5
Lyles.................16 1-2 0-0 1-6 2 2 3
Carroll...............11 0-4 2-2 2-3 1 4 2
Walker IV .............1 0-2 0-0 1-1 0 0 0
Metu...................1 0-0 1-2 0-1 0 0 1
Totals 41-88 12-15 9-41 23 22 104
Shooting: Field goals, 46.6%; free throws, 80.0%
Three-point goals: 10-25 (Forbes 3-7, Mills 2-6,
Lyles 1-1, White 1-1, Mur ray 1-2, Aldridge 1-3, Gay 1-3,
Carroll 0-2). Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 13 (15
PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Aldridge, DeRozan, Gay, Lyles,
Poeltl). Turnovers: 13 (Murray 4, Gay 2, Lyles 2, Aldridge,
Carroll, Forbes, Mills, Poeltl). Steals: 4 (Aldridge,
Forbes, Mills, Poeltl). Technical Fouls: Lyles, 1:14 sec-
ond.
LAKERS 25 29 32 28— 114
San Antonio 22 34 26 22— 104
A—18,498. T—2:06. O—Curtis Blair, Ray Acosta, Eric
Lewis“I still try to impact the
game, not just on the offen-
sive end but on the defensive
end as well,” Davis said. “Do
some of the other things as
well, especially when the
shot isn’t falling. Just make
sure my presence is still felt
out on the floor.”
Four other Lakers joined
Davis and James in double
figures scoring including
Rajon Rondo and Troy Dan-
iels, who combined to make
all six of their three-point at-
tempts.
“We have a lot of options.
We have a lot of guys that can
make shots,” James said.
“But at the end of the day,
when we put the ball on the
ground, we attract eyes. And
when you attract eyes,
you’ve got numbers on the
weak side, and you want to
pass up a good shot to get a
great shot.”
The great shots were
paired with the Lakers tight-
ening their defense late in
the game, allowing James to
walk off the floor to the ser-
enades of “M-V-P, M-V-P.”
They could’ve said “un-
believable” too.
We know the Lakers
coach would agree.well.”
Oh, the Spurs saw that
too.
Forced to respect James’
thrust toward the basket,
San Antonio’s defense be-
gan to sag, opening things
up for James as a shooter
and a playmaker.
“Every quarter is its own
game for me. I read and react
to the quarter — see what’s
going on. Some quarters it’s
a physical game going down-
hill. Some quarters I start
going to the perimeter.
Sometimes I go to the mid-
range. Sometimes I go to the
post,” James said. “Just for
me, every quarter is its own
game and you just try to read
and react and not predeter-
mine what you’re going to
do.”
Physically rested from
the summer and as mentally
sharp as ever, James again
insisted that he’s never felt
better on the court. And the
numbers? They back that
up.
In Season 17, he’s averag-
ing 25.6 points, 11.0 assists
and 7.4 rebounds — numbers
only James Harden and Os-
car Robertson have everbeen able to replicate.
“He was unbelievable,”
Vogel said. “I gave him op-
portunities to get a quick
blow around timeouts if he
wanted to, but he said he
was good and fresh. He
dominated the action. He
was quarterbacking us on
the defensive end and made
every play offensively.
“The guy is unbeliev-
able.”
James’ heroics were well-
timed.
One game before the Lak-
ers play the Pelicans in An-
thony Davis’ highly antici-
pated return to New Orle-
ans, the big man struggled
early, his own offense falter-
ing while his cover, LaMar-
cus Aldridge, torched the de-
fense.
But Davis didn’t relent,
grabbing a key offensive re-
bound right before halftime
that led to a Kentavious
Caldwell-Pope three right at
the buzzer that gave the
Lakers some momentum
heading into the third. And
with the defense fully fixated
on James in the second half,
Davis broke loose, scoring 15
of his 19 points in the final
two quarters.Averages by James are equal to Harden and Robertson
[Lakers,from D1]
LeBRON JAMES hangs on the rim as he scores. An
offseason of rest has benefited him in his 17th season.Eric GayAssociated PressBYU 78, UCLA 63
BYU
Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T
Lee ..................22 6-7 1-1 2-2 0 2 13
Nixon................32 3-5 0-0 1-4 1 2 8
Barcello ............29 4-5 0-0 0-1 5 3 9
Haws ................315-11 3-4 0-1 4 2 15
Toolson .............358-14 1-1 0-3 2 2 20
Seljaas .............24 3-4 2-2 3-10 0 3 9
Harding.............22 2-3 0-0 0-2 1 2 4
Knell ..................4 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Troy....................-- 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 31-50 7-8 6-24 13 16 78
Shooting: Field goals, 62.0%; free throws, 87.5%
Three-point goals: 9-18 (Toolson 3-7, Nixon 2-3,
Haws 2-4, Seljaas 1-1, Barcello 1-2, Harding 0-1). Team
Rebounds: 1. Team Turnovers: 13 (16 PTS). Blocked
Shots: 2 (Nixon, Toolson). Turnovers: 13 (Haws 4, Tool-
son 3, Barcello 2, Harding, Lee, Nixon, Seljaas). Steals:
7 (Toolson 3, Lee 2, Harding, Nixon). Technical Fouls:
None.
UCLA
Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T
Riley.................316-11 0-2 3-6 1 2 12
Hill ...................27 4-6 0-0 1-2 3 1 8
Ali....................274-11 2-3 3-4 1 2 10
Campbell ..........22 4-7 1-3 0-1 2 3 11
Smith...............27 1-6 2-2 1-5 6 0 4
Bernard ............295-11 3-5 3-6 2 3 16
Singleton ..........12 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Jaquez ..............11 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
Olesinski...........10 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 2 2
O’Neal................3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Kyman................-- 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 25-55 8-15 12-26 15 16 63
Shooting: Field goals, 45.5%; free throws, 53.3%
Three-point goals: 5-14 (Bernard 3-7, Campbell 2-2,
Singleton 0-1, Ali 0-2, Smith 0-2). Team Rebounds: 3.
Team Turnovers: 13 (16 PTS). Blocked Shots: 0. Turn-
overs: 13 (Campbell 3, Riley 3, Smith 3, Hill 2, Bernard,
Singleton). Steals: 10 (Smith 3, Ali 2, Jaquez 2,
Bernard, Campbell, Riley). Technical Fouls: None. Ta-
bleStyle: LA_SP-BKC_LINECCI Template: LA_SP-
BKC_LINE
BYU 36 42— 78
UCLA 32 31— 63[UCLA,from D1]
TJ HAWSof Brigham Young makes a pass around
Chris Smith of UCLA in the first half.
Marco GarciaAssociated PressLanders Nolley II peeled
off a screen and, without
hesitation, let a three-point-
er fly from the wing. The ball
dropped in, giving Virginia
Tech the cushion it needed
to hold off No. 3 Michigan
State.
One big shot, one mas-
sive victory for the Hokies.
Nolley hit that crucial
three-pointer in the final
minute and scored 22 points,
helping Virginia Tech out-
last the Spartans 71-66 at the
Maui Invitational on Mon-
day in Lahaina, Hawaii.
“They believed in me,”
Nolley said. “And I hit the
shot.”
Virginia Tech (6-0) had
low expectations — at least
outside the program — in
coach Mike Young’s first
season in Blacksburg,
picked to finish 14th in the
Atlantic Coast Conference
preseason poll.
The Hokies grinded
through a back-and-forth
second half before going up
10 with 4^1 ⁄ 2 minutes left.
Michigan State fought back
to pull within one, but Nolley
responded with a three for a
68-64 lead with 47 seconds
left.
Virginia Tech made just
enough free throws down
the stretch to earn a spot in
Tuesday’s semifinal against
Dayton. The Flyers beat
Georgia 80-61 on Monday.
“That’s a really good
player making a big league
play,” Young said. “It prob-
ably went a long way in get-
ting us out of here with a
win.”
Michigan State (3-2)
trailed 32-28 at halftime af-
ter preseason All-AmericanCassius Winston was limited
to eight minutes because of
two fouls.
Winston helped spark a
late run, but the Spartans
couldn’t finish it off. Aaron
Henry led Michigan State
with 18 points, and Winston
was held to seven on two-for-
eight shooting.
Michigan State has had a
rough start to the season.
The preseason Associated
Press No. 1, the Spartans
lost starting guard JoshuaLangford to a foot injury be-
fore the first game, and a
week later, Winston’s
brother, Zachary, was hit
and killed by a train.
“He was a shell of himself
today,” Michigan State
coach Tom Izzo said of Win-
ston. “I think it’s been a lot
on him. I couldn’t have gone
through what that kid has
gone through. No way. He
just looked tired the whole
time.”
Michigan State lost itsopening game to No. 9 Ken-
tucky but bounced back
with three straight wins, in-
cluding a hard-fought vic-
tory at No. 13 Seton Hall.
Virginia Tech has a re-
vamped roster under Young,
who took over after Buzz
Williams left for Texas A&M.No. 4 Kansas 93, Chami-
nade 63: Devin Dotson
scored 19 points, Udoka
Azubuike added 15 and the
Jayhawks (4-1) cruised to a
victory over the Division II
Silverswords (2-1) at the
Maui Invitational. Kansas is
a two-time Maui champion.at No. 10 Ohio State 71,
Kent State 52:Kaleb Wes-
son scored 17 points, and the
Buckeyes (6-0) recovered af-
ter a second-half rally by the
Golden Flashes (5-1) to pull
away.at No. 17 Tennessee 58,
Chattanooga 46:Lamonte
Turner had 17 points and 12
assists as the Volunteers
(5-0) beat the Mocs (3-3) to
extend the longest active
home winning streak in Divi-
sion I to 30 games.No. 18 Auburn 84, New
Mexico 59:Samir Doughty
scored 19 points to lead the
Tigers (6-0) to a rout of the
Lobos (5-2) in the Legends
Classic at Barclays Center in
New York. Auburn will meet
Richmond — which beat
Wisconsin 62-52 — in the title
game Tuesday.at No. 20 Virginia Com-
monwealth 78, Alabama
State 62: Marcus Evans
scored 25 points, and the
Rams (6-0) closed the first
half on a big run in a victory
over the Hornets (0-5).EAST
Drexel 84, Rosemont 51
Yale 73, W. Michigan 51
Loyola (Md.) 81, IUPUI 77
Pittsburgh 63, Kansas St. 59
La Salle 75, Murray St. 64
SOUTH
South Alabama 74, Northeastern 62
South Florida 66, Loyola of Chicago 55
W. Kentucky 69, Fordham 64
George Mason 60, Old Dominion 53
Richmond 62, Wisconsin 52
Arkansas 62, Georgia Tech 61, OT
N. Kentucky 86, Midway 56
VCU 78, Alabama St. 62
Florida St. 113, Chicago St. 56
Winthrop 127, Pfeiffer 83
Tennessee 58, Chattanooga 46
Lipscomb 78, Tennessee Tech 65
Alabama A&M 80, Troy 66
Austin Peay 92, SC State 66
Vanderbilt 78, SE Louisiana 70
Campbell 62, Jacksonville 57
MIDWEST
Grand Canyon 68, Illinois St. 63
Miami (Ohio) 67, Drake 59
Dayton 80, Georgia 61Louisiana-Lafayette 81, Detroit 62
Virginia Tech 71, Michigan St. 66
Cincinnati 81, Valparaiso 77, OT
Ohio St. 71, Kent St. 52
Butler 63, Missouri 52
Nebraska 82, Washington St. 71
N. Illinois 74, Oakland 50
Nevada 77, Bowling Green 62
CS Northridge at Green Bay, 8 p.m.
Rio Grande 79, Texas A&M International 52
Nebraska-Omaha 78, Southern U. 51
Northwestern 78, Bradley 51
Indiana 88, Louisiana Tech 75
Kansas 93, Chaminade 63
SOUTHWEST
Ark.-Pine Bluff 75, Champion Christian 67
Oral Roberts 99, SW Christian 45
Texas St. 61, Abilene Christian 56
FAR WEST
New Mexico St. 78, Colorado St. 70, OT
Bucknell 77, Seattle 70
Wright St. 72, Weber St. 57
Montana 74, Texas Southern 62
Auburn 84, New Mexico 59
Stanford 73, Oklahoma 54
San Diego St. 62, Tennessee St. 49
BYU 78, UCLA 63MEN’S COLLEGE SCORES
MEN
at Wisconsin Green Bay 85, Cal State Northridge 84:
Kameron Hankerson made a go-ahead three-pointer with
57 seconds left for the game’s final points, and the Phoenix
(2-3) beat the Matadors (0-7). Northridge’s Terrell Gomez,
who scored 30 points, had hit a three to put his team up 84-82.MEN TODAY
UC Irvine vs. Louisiana (at Las Vegas) ...............................1 p.m.
Longwood at UC Riverside .....................................................7 p.m.WOMEN TODAY
Yale at No. 11 UCLA ....................................................................7 p.m.SOUTHLAND
VIRGINIA TECH’SIsaiah Wilkins (1) and Michigan State’s Malik Hall get tangled while fighting for a re-
bound. The Hokies defeated the No. 3 Spartans 71-66 on the first day of the Maui Invitational in Hawaii.Darryl OumiGetty ImagesCOLLEGE BASKETBALL TOP 25 ROUNDUP
Hokies stun No. 3 Spartans
associated press