Aboya, UCLA pull away from Southern Illinois in second half

Nov 22, 2008 - 4:53 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Alfred Aboya helped UCLA salvage its trip to Madison Square Garden.

Aboya scored 13 of his career-high 22 points in the second half as fourth-ranked UCLA posted a 77-60 victory over Southern Illinois in the third-place game of the 2K Sports Classic on Friday.

Darren Collison added eight of his 16 points after intermission for the Bruins (3-1), who bounced back following Thursday's upset loss by Michigan in the semifinals.

After managing just 52 points against Michigan, UCLA found itself in another tight affair, leading by two points at the break, 35-33, before Aboya and the rest of the team picked it up with a big run.

Michael Roll gave the Bruins a 39-33 advantage on his jumper less than three minutes after intermission - the first field goal for UCLA in more than nine minutes.

However, the Salukis (2-2) clawed back, tying the contest at 48-48 with 10:48 remaining on two free throws by Ryan Hare.

UCLA found its range from outside thereafter, connecting on three 3-pointers as it ripped off an 20-2 run. Nikola Dragovic opened the burst with a basket from the arc and Collison connected on back-to-back 3-pointers at one point for a 57-48 advantage with 8:24 to play.

Aboya contributed seven points during the run, including a thunderous dunk on a fast break that extended the lead to 60-50 with 6:08 left. Josh Shipp grabbed a steal to start that break before flipping a breakout pass behind the back to Collison, who also went behind his back to Aboya in the lane for the slam.

Aboya finished 6-of-8 from the field, converted 10-of-13 free throws and grabbed eight rebounds.

"I think my teammates did a great job of finding me tonight," Aboya said. "Southern Illinois is an aggressive team, especially on defense. They are very help conscious and when my teammates drove to the basket, they did a good job of helping and my teammates did a good job of getting the ball to me when my man came to help. That was why I got easy baskets.

"I just concentrated on my foul shots tonight when I got fouled."

Aboya had an injury scare, landing hard on his left wrist after taking a charge of Nick Evans with 3:38 left in the contest. Yet, X-rays and a CAT scan performed at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases were negative.

"I hurt it last night (against Michigan) after a charge and then again tonight when I drew that last charge," Aboya said. "I just came back from the hospital and the CT scan and X-rays were both negative.

"On Monday, I'll go get an MRI on my wrist, just to double check. But I think I'll be fine. We have tomorrow and Sunday off, so for me, I think that is enough time to heal. My body heals up pretty quickly."

Overall, Aboya took five charges, including four against Michigan, in UCLA's two games in New York.

Shipp scored 11 points and freshman Jrue Holiday added eight for the Bruins, who shot 48 percent (26-of-54).

Despite its offensive struggles the day before, UCLA got out to a strong start, grabbing a 24-13 lead midway through the first half on a layup in transition by Collison.

Southern Illinois cut that deficit to five points before Holiday completed a three-point play with 7:22 remaining. However, the Salukis would not be denied, closing out the opening half on a 12-6 run. Wesley Clemmons and Kevin Dillard both hit a 3-pointer during that span.

Behind Dillard, Southern Illinois made 5-of-7 3-pointers in the first half before cooling down after intermission, finishing 6-of-11.

Dillard hit three 3-pointers en route to 14 points. Tony Boyle had 10 and Hare added nine for Southern Illinois, which committed 21 turnovers.