As the expression goes, UCLA basketball “does not rebuild, they reload.” And the 2008-09 season will be no different as the Bruins have the number one incoming class in the nation according to multiple scouting services and national web sites.
Biola jumped at the opportunity to play against the No. 4 ranked Bruins at the legendary Pauley Pavilion Friday, losing the exhibition 76-42.
Despite the final outcome, the Eagles held their ground, keeping the game within five points for most of the first half before a 10-2 run in the final five minutes gave the Bruins a cushion heading into the break.
Preseason All American Darren Collision was the game’s high scorer, dropping 14 points in 27 minutes for the Bruins, who played all of their starters the majority of the game because of the relatively close nature of both the game and the official start of the season.
Since the game was an exhibition, the final score was of little concern for Biola, who used the contest as an opportunity to evaluate themselves against the toughest competition. The game gave Dave Holmquist, Biola’s head coach, a look at his two D-I transfers: forward Josh Miller from UC San Diego and former Arkansas Razorback Nate Rakestraw.
Miller came out strong, scoring Biola’s first couple of baskets, and finished with 12 points in 37 minutes for the Eagles while matched up against the looming bodies of James Keefe and Alfred Aboya.
“They are very, very fast. They are very strong. They don’t make mistakes,” said Miller of the Bruins after the game. “We did a lot of things right tonight, but they capitalized on every mistake we made. They are going to be the toughest opponents and the best coached team we play this year.”
Rakestraw saw exactly what Miller referred to in the speed of UCLA, as he was guarded all night by two of the Bruins’ best defenders, Josh Shipp and Malcolm Lee.
The duo, along with standout freshman Jrue Holiday, were able to keep Rakestraw to just two of 11 shooting in his Biola debut. Still, Holmquist has high expectations for the former Razorback and attributes much of the team’s poor outside shooting to the team’s lack of depth compared to UCLA.
“We played real well, but we didn’t shoot well and we got tired,” Holmquist explained about the UCLA pullaway. “We don’t have a lot of depth right now because a few guys are hurt.”
Juniors Rocky Hampton and Marlon King both took advantage of the opportunity to play in front of the 8,000 plus crowd at Pauley in their own unique ways.
King held his own despite giving up four inches in height to the All American Collision, racking up four steals and 10 points, and playing the longest of anyone in the game with 39 minutes.
Hampton, who earlier in the week returned to practice after dislocating his shoulder earlier in the week, had a game-high 14 rebounds and nine points while being double-teamed throughout his 30 minutes on the court.
Still, Holmquist expects a fully recovered Hampton to help the Eagles play even better.
“Rocky will be a lot better than he was tonight,” said Holmquist of his expectations of Hampton. “He’s been out a month and he’s just getting back into it. Had he not been hurt, it would have been a much closer game. I was encouraged and I thought the score did not reflect how well we played.”
Overall, the Eagles proved that they could hang closely with the best competition, even forcing UCLA head coach Ben Howland to use multiple timeouts in the first half to slow Biola’s pace.
“We were not scared of them,” Miller said of the Eagles performance. “They are the No. 4 team in D-I right now and we came out strong and we were not timid. We just ran out of gas in the second half. We are going to be good this year. We did a lot of good things against UCLA, and we proved we could hang with them.”
