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Love leads new No. 1 UCLA to win over Maryland

Nov 20, 2007 - 6:02 AM KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Kevin Love had no trouble carrying the newly-minted top team in the nation.

Love had 18 points and 16 rebounds as top-ranked UCLA posted a 71-59 victory over Maryland in the semifinals of the CBE Classic on Monday.

Widely considered the top freshman in the country, Love spurred the Bruins (4-0) to the victory on the same day they were voted into a share of the top spot in the nation along with North Carolina.

Although UCLA was without starting point guard Darren Collison due to a sprained left knee, Love picked up the slack, collecting seven points and 11 rebounds in the first half to forge a 28-18 advantage.

That edge grew to 43-23 when Bruins sophomore guard Russell Westbrook dunked 3:29 into the second half.

In a contest where both teams struggled shooting from the field, the Terrapins (3-1) managed to close within 57-48 on a layup by freshman guard Adrian Bowie with 2:57 remaining.

However, Josh Shipp grabbed a steal on the defensive end and went the distance for a dunk and Love added two free throws for a 63-52 advantage with 69 seconds remaining.

The steal by Shipp was one of eight in the game for UCLA, which held Maryland to 40.0 percent (22-of-55) shooting. Meanwhile, the Bruins went only 37.7 percent (23-of-61).

"To win shooting 37 percent says a lot about our defense," UCLA coach Ben Howland said.

Shipp finished with 18 points and Love converted 7-of-12 free throws for UCLA, which finished with a 44-29 advantage on the boards en route to improving to 6-2 all-time against Maryland.

"The key thing that jumped out on us was the 19-8 deficit on the offensive glass," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "Their effort was impressive."

"I thought we did a great job on the glass," Howland said.

Despite the win, the Bruins really missed the presence of Collison, especially early as they committed 12 turnovers and shot just 11-of-33 in the first half.

However, UCLA was able to get better in the second half despite a limited rotation due to just eight scholarship players in uniform.

"We were shorthanded and got fatigued at the end," Howland said.

The Bruins will face No. 11 Michigan State in the final of this early-season event on Tuesday.

Greivis Vasquez had 19 points and James Gist finished with seven after fouling out for the Terrapins, who shot 1-of-11 on 3-pointers.

Maryland nearly had a streak of 289 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer made snapped before Eric Haynes connected on its only basket from the arc with 20 seconds remaining.