Muhammad keys UCLA victory
NEW YORK - In his first game in UCLA's starting lineup, Shabazz Muhammad played like a regular.
He got to the line, he took big shots, and the highly touted freshman from Bishop Gorman High School helped the 11th-ranked Bruins avoid what would have been a pretty discouraging loss.
Muhammad scored 21 points, and UCLA made enough free throws late to hold off Georgia for a 60-56 win Tuesday night in the consolation game of the Legends Classic.
"It was obviously an important win to bounce back after a disappointing defeat last night," UCLA coach Ben Howland said, alluding to Monday's loss to Georgetown, in which Muhammad played his first college game - but didn't start - and scored 15 points.
In the final minutes of a mostly dreary game against Georgia, UCLA (4-1) took the lead with Muhammad on the bench, on baskets by Travis Wear and Jordan Adams, but the hyped freshman re-entered with 1:58 left and the game still in doubt.
"I thought I was really getting more comfortable out there," Muhammad said. "I was getting open on the screens and mismatches down low."
He made two free throws with 1:15 left, then scooped up a loose ball on the other end with a minute remaining and passed to Norman Powell, who was fouled attempting a layup.
Powell made one of his free throws, and the Bruins closed it out at the line to rebound from a tough loss and avoid a long flight back to the West Coast.
"I thought the difference in the game was the free-throw line," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "We didn't get there enough, they got there a bunch, and they outscored us about 14 points at the foul line in a low-scoring game."
Muhammad actually took more free throws than the entire Georgia team, going 8 of 11. The Bulldogs shot 6 of 10 from the line.
"We didn't make the plays in the heart of the game that we needed to make," Fox said.
Wear finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for UCLA, and Kyle Anderson had nine rebounds and nine points.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Bulldogs (1-4) with 16 points and had eight rebounds. Marcus Thornton had 10 rebounds for Georgia.
Muhammad played 28 minutes in his first start of the season, after playing as a reserve on Monday night in the Bruins' 78-70 loss to unranked Georgetown. He appeared winded in the final five minutes of the game and had to take a breather before coming back for the final two minutes.
"We're learning how to play with Shabazz tonight. We didn't play with him all summer," Howland said. "Obviously, he's got to continue to work to be a better defender, as do all our players."
around the nation
• HOOSIERS HANG ON - At New York, a night after an ineffective game, Cody Zeller had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead No. 1 Indiana to an 82-72 overtime win against Georgetown in the title game of the Legends Classic.
Jordan Hulls had 17 points for Indiana (5-0), and Yogi Ferrell had 14, including seven in overtime. Markel Starks had 20 points for the Hoyas (3-1).
• BUTLER STUNS TAR HEELS - At Lahaina, Hawaii, Rotnei Clarke and Kellen Dunham each scored 17 points to lead unranked Butler (3-1) past No. 9 North Carolina(4-1) 82-71, jumping to a 17-point halftime lead and holding back several second-half surges from the Tar Heels in the second round of the Maui Invitational.
• JAYHAWKS CHALK UP WIN - At Kansas City, Mo., Jeff Withey matched a career high with 25 points, Travis Releford added 23, and No. 12 Kansas (4-1) held off Saint Louis (2-2) 73-59 to win the CBE Classic.
MOUNTAIN WEST
• BRONCOS NEARLY UPSET SPARTANS - At East Lansing, Mich., Keith Appling scored 22 points, and Branden Dawson and slow-starting Michigan State rallied twice to beat Boise State, 74-70. Derrick Marks scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half for the Broncos, who were looking to knock off the 15th-ranked Spartans in their own Spartan Showcase.
