Alford scores 27, No. 22 UCLA tops UL Lafayette 89-80
LOS ANGELES (AP) The past two years as UCLA's point guard, Bryce Alford excelled at running the offense. This season, he's recognizing there's a time for him to forget about his teammates and just shoot.
His dad - Bruins coach Steve Alford - likes that approach.
''One thing I think Bryce has gotten into here in his junior year is that he's really understanding the times when we need him to make the big shot,'' the coach said after his son scored a season-high 27 points Tuesday night in an 89-80 win over UL Lafayette.
Alford's final field goal was a 3-pointer with 1:49 to play after the Ragin' Cajuns got within six. He shot 10 for 15 overall, including 4 of 6 on 3s.
''It's something you learn through experience,'' he said. ''I went through stretches last year where I had to figure that out. I'm doing a lot better job this of knowing when to do that. Now I know when the team needs me to score,'' he said.
The short-handed Bruins (8-3) posted their fifth consecutive victory. Starting center Thomas Welsh was out with a stomach virus and reserve Prince Ali bruised his left knee against Gonzaga on Saturday night.
Tony Parker and Isaac Hamilton each added 19 points for the Bruins.
''We lost to Monmouth by one possession and we lost to Wake by one possession in Maui,'' Steve Alford said. ''We're two possessions from having this thing at 10-1. But I think we've learned from those games, too.''
Shawn Long contributed 26 points and 16 rebounds for UL Lafayette (3-5), which fell to 0-5 on the road this season.
For Long, it was his fifth double-double of the season. The 6-foot-11 senior is the NCAA Division I active leader in double-doubles (57) and total rebounds (1,133).
Kasey Shepherd scored 15 points and Jay Wright added 14 for the Ragin' Cajuns.
''I had a rough first half, but I came out staying with it. It was tough for a few of us to get into the groove,'' Long said. ''Once we found it I thought there was still a lot of game left to play. We can't hang our heads. UCLA is a tough team. They're going to be a tournament team.''
The Bruins shot a season-best 55.4 percent from the field. Their previous best was 52.8 percent in their upset victory over then-No. 1 Kentucky two weeks ago.
''We were a little disappointed with the way we started the ballgame,'' UL Lafayette coach Bob Marlin said. ''I didn't think we had the focus we need to have.''
''I didn't think we were guarding. We told the guys to just keep battling. We felt we could get back in it, and we got it to 4 with 10 and a half to play. I was proud of our guys. We continued to fight, and I think we got better tonight,'' he said.
UCLA, which led by as many as 19 in the first half, saw UL Lafayette pull within 63-59 with 10:13 to play.
The Bruins responded with an 11-2 spurt to lead 74-61, only to see the Ragin' Cajuns close to 79-73 on Long's 3-pointer with 2:17 to play.
UCLA made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute for the victory.
The second half was refereed by two officials, David Hall and Marques Pettigrew, after referee Eric Curry left at halftime with an undisclosed injury.
TIP-INS
UL Lafayette: The Ragin' Cajuns, coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons, entered the game ranked third among NCAA Division I programs in scoring, averaging 90.0 points per game, having already eclipsed the century mark twice this season.
UCLA: With Welsh out, coach Steve Alford was forced to change his starting lineup for the first time this season. He replaced Welsh with 6-10 sophomore Jonah Bolden. ... The Bruins cracked the AP Top 25 poll for the first time this season, boosted by two victories in nine days over ranked opponents, Kentucky 87-77 on Dec. 3 and No. 20 Gonzaga 71-66 on Saturday night.
NEXT UP
UL Lafayette: At Pepperdine on Friday.
UCLA: Vs. North Carolina on Saturday in New York.
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Ridley leads Texas past Appalachian State 67-55
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) The schedule suggests Texas faced Appalachian State Tuesday night, but Longhorns coach Shaka Smart said the Longhorns tangled with another opponent.
''Human nature,'' Smart said.
Three days after defeating then-No. 3 North Carolina, Texas struggled to beat Appalachian State 67-55.
The game was tied midway through the second half. Then Texas center Cameron Ridley took over, scoring 11 points in row during a span of less than four minutes - including three dunks.
Ridley finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and a set a school record with nine blocks.
Smart understood a letdown was possible against Appalachian State (2-7) after beating North Carolina, but he added, ''You have to be better than human nature if you want to be a great team.''
The 6-foot-10 Ridley did his part at both ends. On defense, he helped Texas set a school record with 15 blocks; the Longhorns made 14 twice last season. The Mountaineers shot 30 percent, and 12 of their 18 baskets were 3-pointers.
''They really dictated defensively,'' Appalachian State coach Jim Fox said. ''Ridley's ability to blocks shots really bothered our shot selection. We settled for too many jumpers. We didn't have our attack that we normally do.''
The 285-pound Ridley averaged fewer than three blocks his first three years at Texas. He's upped that to 3.3 this season.
''I'm in a better place physically,'' Ridley said. ''I feel bouncier.''
Javan Felix added 14 points for Texas (7-3), winner of five straight games, and Isaiah Taylor added 12 with seven assists.
Frank Eaves led Appalachian State with 20 points, one game after scoring a career-best 38 against Hofstra.
Eaves missed six of seven shots in the first half against Texas. But he hit four 3-pointers during the first 10 minutes of the second half, enabling the Mountaineers to pull even after trailing by 10 earlier in the half.
But Ridley began calling for the ball during the last several minutes of the game. The Longhorns kept going to him.
''Why not?'' Smart said. ''He's by far our best option. He's getting better at demanding it. We had a conversation in front of the team a week or two ago, and we were talking about how we didn't feel like we were getting the ball inside to him enough. And then we stopped and we said, `some of that's your fault, Cam. You have to demand the ball.'''
TIP-INS
Appalachian State: Taking advantage of Texas' inconsistency at rebounding this season, Appalachian State had more offensive rebounds (5) midway through the first half than then-No. 3 North Carolina grabbed (4) in an entire game against the Longhorns on Saturday.
Texas: Cameron Ridley ranks seventh nationally in field-goal accuracy with 66.7 percent before Tuesday .. Guard Javan Felix was named national player of the week by the United States Basketball Writers Association after scoring 25 points, including the game-winning shot, against then-No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday.
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN
Texas honored its 1989-90 basketball team that reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight and featured Lance Blanks, Travis Mays and Joey Wright, known then as BMW. The team was introduced at halftime Tuesday, including coach Tom Penders, who was forced out in 1998. Shaka Smart, the Longhorns' first-year coach, encouraged the reunion and also has reached out to other former Texas players. ''Shaka Smart is not only maybe the brightest young coach in America, he has a feel for these kind of things,'' Penders said.
UP NEXT
Appalachian State hosts Charlotte on Saturday afternoon.
Texas is at Stanford on Saturday.
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Freshman Ingram leads No. 7 Duke past Georgia Southern 99-65
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) No. 7 Duke won't have its best big man for a while. The Blue Devils do have freshman Brandon Ingram, and that was more than enough to beat Georgia Southern on Tuesday night.
Ingram had season highs of 26 points and 14 rebounds, leading Duke to a 99-65 victory over Georgia Southern.
Grayson Allen added 18 points, Matt Jones had 16 and Derryck Thornton finished with 15 for the Blue Devils (9-1) in their first game without high-energy forward Amile Jefferson.
''Everybody was asked to pick it up some,'' Ingram said. ''There was an opportunity out there to get more rebounds. ... We had to go after it.''
Coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the game that Jefferson, who averages a double-double, broke his right foot during practice and is out indefinitely, but does not need surgery.
''It's a huge period of adjustment for us,'' Krzyzewski said. ''You don't lose Amile and then, `OK, everything's good.' ... Amile was our best big guy.''
Playing for the first time in 10 days due to final exams, Duke wasn't always crisp but still had little trouble pulling away for its seventh straight win. The Blue Devils shot 57.6 percent in the second half and held a 55-29 rebounding advantage.
Tookie Brown scored 20 points and Mike Hughes added 14 for Georgia Southern (3-5), which has lost two straight and five of seven.
''When (Duke) missed it, they went and got it,'' Eagles coach Mark Byington said. ''I wish we would have battled a little bit more, but I was proud of our guys. I don't think they hesitated at all.''
For Duke, the priority in this one was figuring out the best way to play without Jefferson, who started the first nine games and averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds - including an ACC-best 4.8 on the offensive end.
''We'll have to keep the ship afloat while he's gone,'' Krzyzewski said.
The easy answer was to lean hard on Ingram and Marshall Plumlee, who finished with a career-best 11 rebounds.
Jefferson watched from the bench in sweats with a hard cast on his foot, and Duke replaced him in the starting lineup with Luke Kennard - a freshman making his first start - and shifted Ingram from small forward to Jefferson's power forward spot.
The Blue Devils led for all but about 30 seconds and began to pull away during the final minute of the first half. Jones hit a free throw with 32.2 seconds left before Chase Jeter grabbed his miss and Thornton hit a 3 from the corner just before the buzzer to put Duke up 47-32 at halftime.
Plumlee opened the second half with a stickback dunk, and Ingram followed with a steal and a fast-break dunk through contact. After Ingram swished a 3 two possessions later to make it a 20-point game, Duke was well on its way to another easy win.
STAT SHEET
Kennard had a rough beginning to his first start. He missed his first six shots, including four 3-pointers, before finally breaking through with a fast-break layup with 6 1/2 minutes left in the first half. He finished with 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Krzyzewski said his practices ''have been lights out'' but ''he hasn't translated that to the game.''
INJURY WATCH
Allen gave Duke's coaches and fans a brief scare when he took a shot to the face with about 15 minutes left. He was back with 12 1/2 minutes to play and hit a 3-pointer some 30 seconds after getting back into the game.
TIP-INS
Georgia Southern: The Eagles were playing a ranked team for the first time since 2008, when then-No. 8 Duke beat them 97-54. ... Georgia Southern was 0 for 4 from the free-throw line.
Duke: The trickle-down of Jefferson's absence led to more significant playing time for Jeter, a 6-foot-10 freshman who occupied the last spot in the seven-man rotation. He had two points while playing a season-high 17 minutes.
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern plays host to Winthrop on Saturday.
Duke plays Utah on Saturday in New York.