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Shipp scores 14 in first half in UCLA rout

Nov 14, 2007 - 6:57 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The second-ranked UCLA Bruins will need to find a replacement for All-American shooting guard Aaron Afflalo if they want to advance to a third straight Final Four. Josh Shipp may have it covered.

The junior scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half as the Bruins thrashed overmatched Division II Cal-State San Bernardino, 76-41, on Wednesday night in the CBE Classic.

"Josh Shipp's shots broke it open for us early," UCLA coach Ben Howland said.

UCLA will meet Maryland in the semifinals on Monday in Kansas City.

Afflalo combined his slashing style with a deadly 3-point shot before jumping to the NBA after his junior season and leaving a void on the wing.

Shipp, who has battled injuries throughout his career and has been in-and-out of the Bruins (3-0) starting lineup, has moved into Afflalo's spot and has showed his marksmanship from the 3-point stripe.

Shipp led an offense playing without starting point guard Darren Collison for the third straight game by draining 4-of-6 shots from the arc in the contest's first 20 minutes.

"I was getting open shots and my teammates were finding me," Shipp said. "I knocked down a few and I just kept shooting."

Shipp's hot shooting sparked UCLA to a 36-11 lead en route to its 23rd straight home victory.

The 6-4 swingman finished 6-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from the arc. In the season opener against Portland State, Shipp knocked down 4-of-6 3-pointers.

While replacing Afflalo's offense might be a question mark, UCLA and its tenacious defense is unquestioned. The Bruins held the Coyotes scoreless the final 9 1/2 minutes of the first half while scoring 18 points.

The Coyotes were held to 33 percent (17-of-51) shooting, including 3-of-19 from the arc and 5-of-19 in the first half.

Marlon Pierce scored 10 points for Cal-State Bernardino, which advanced to the second round after knocking off Weber State, 71-59, on Monday.

"I was concerned coming into the game because they had played well against Weber State," Howland said. "But I was very pleased with our defense. I also thought we attacked the press well, specifically seeing it for the first time."

In the glorified scrimmage, outstanding freshman Kevin Love added 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds.

"I was pleased with Kevin's play, especially in the second half," Howland said. "He did a good job sealing off his man to increase his touches."

Russell Westbrook added 14 points and six assists in place of Collison, who may be back for the Maryland game.

"Russell Westbrook had another good game," Howland said. "He's improved the last two games in a row. I was pleased with his performance at point guard.

"Hopefully (Collison) will be back ready for practice on Friday."

UCLA has outscored its first three opponents, 228-141.