Bruins find their way past Hilltoppers

PHOENIX – In its NCAA tournament opener, UCLA jumped on Mississippi Valley State early and buried the poor Delta Devils by 41 points.

Maybe they thought Thursday night would be more of the same after taking a 41-20 halftime lead into their locker room.

Oops.

The Bruins were rattled by a furious full-court press and outhustled repeatedly in the second half against 12th-seeded Western Kentucky.

In the end, No. 1 seed UCLA survived, however, winning 88-78 mostly because, no matter how much endurance and fight the Hilltoppers had in them, they had nothing to offset Bruins center Kevin Love.

“Well, another exciting game for Bruins fans out there,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “We want to keep you awake and on the edge of your seats.

“You’re welcome.”

Love, a 6-10 freshman, finished with 29 points, a career high, and 14 rebounds. He made 10 of 14 shots from the field and 9 of 12 free throws.

Reserve forward Adam Keefe also was something of a savior, chipping in 18 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. The previous career highs for Keefe, a 6-8 sophomore, were eight points and seven rebounds.

Guard Russell Westbrook, though missing 12 of 15 shots, finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Bruins (34-3).

Love, Keefe and Westbrook came up with key rebounds time and again when Western Kentucky (29-7) had made it something of a nail-biter.

The Hilltoppers’ press took a toll on the sloppy Bruins. With a little more than 6 minutes left, Western Kentucky got within four points, 61-57, and UCLA had three starters – Darren Collison, Westbrook and Josh Shipp – playing with four fouls.