Pac-10 Basketball | Love splendid in UCLA debut
LOS ANGELES - Kevin Love put on quite a show in his college debut. Fittingly, he was besieged afterward by autograph seekers shoving everything from basketballs to photos at him.
Love had 22 points and 13 rebounds, helping No. 2 UCLA dominate Portland State 69-48 Friday night for the Bruins’ fifth consecutive season-opening victory under coach Ben Howland.
Love’s points were the second-most by a UCLA freshman in his first game and his rebounds topped Charles O’Bannon’s record of 12 as a freshman in 1993.
“I’m not here for records,” Love said.
Waiting for his introduction in the starting lineup, Love reflected on how long he had been anticipating the moment. “My whole life really,” he said.
He was out to impress from the opening tip. The 6-foot-10, 270-pounder scored on consecutive dunks that had him flying off the rim and the fans oohing at Pauley Pavilion.
“It felt good to get those two flushes down,” said Love, who grew up in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego, Ore.
Then he whipped an outlet pass the length of the court to Russell Westbrook, who scored to give the Bruins an 18-2 lead. They leaped up and bumped chests as a timeout was called.
Love showed his versatility by hitting a three-pointer. Later, he was knocked to the floor on a hard foul by Julius Thomas, but got up and made one of two free throws. Love swatted away a shot in the second half, sending the ball out to midcourt.
“Kevin had a very good game,” Howland said. “He got a little winded in the second half and started to cramp. That’s part of the excitement of playing your first game.”
Love scored seven consecutive points in the second half, including five free throws, for UCLA’s largest lead, 51-27. He finished 6 of 8 from the field, 9 of 11 from the line, had three assists and no fouls in 28 minutes.
“My teammates put me in the right position to score,” he said.
Josh Shipp added 18 points for the Bruins (1-0), who are coming off consecutive Final Four appearances. Westbrook had 10 points and six of UCLA’s 18 turnovers.
Jeremiah Dominguez scored 11 points for Portland State (0-1).
At No. 23 Stanford 111, Harvard 56
Drew Shiller scored 18 points and the Cardinal (1-0) handled the Crimson (0-1) in the Basketball Travelers Classic.
Anthony Goods added 17 points for Stanford. Taj Finger scored 15 points for Stanford, while Josh Owens had 12 and Kenny Brown 11.
WOMEN
No. 7 Stanford 100, at Yale 44
Jayne Appel scored 20 points to help the Cardinal (1-0) hand the Bulldogs (0-1) their worst defeat in school history.
Candice Wiggins finished with eight points in just 11 minutes as the Cardinal prepare for an early season showdown with No. 3 Rutgers on Sunday.
At Penn State 87, Arizona 78
Tyra Grant and Brianne O’Rourke hit back-to-back three-pointers during a decisive second-half run as the Nittany Lions (1-0) toppled the Wildcats (0-1).
Ashley Whisonant topped the Wildcats with 26 points and seven assists.
NOTE
• Devanei Hampton will miss up to the first six weeks of the season for No. 13 California after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery Friday. Hampton, reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year, complained of pain in her right knee and underwent an MRI, which determined she needed a procedure to repair a torn meniscus. Cal said the recovery time is expected to be four to six weeks.