• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Shipp, UCLA start strong in rout of Cal

Mar 14, 2008 - 3:02 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Josh Shipp and UCLA showed that they did not need the officials' help to beat California.

Shipp scored 18 points as the second-ranked Bruins cruised to an 88-66 victory over the Golden Bears in the semifinals of the Pac-10 Conference tournament on Thursday.

Darren Collison had 19 points and freshman Kevin Love added 11 and seven rebounds for top-seeded UCLA (29-3), which will face fourth seed Southern California in the semifinals on Friday.

The Bruins won their last conference postseason title in 2006.

The result of Thursday's matchup was quite different compared to the Bruins' 81-80 win over the Golden Bears in the regular-season finale on Saturday, a game where UCLA needed to rally from an 11-point deficit down the stretch. The comeback was sealed by a miraculous shot from over the corner of the backboard in the closing moments by Shipp.

The shot caused some controversy as the Pac-10 rules state that the ball is considered to be out of bounds when it passes over the backboard from any direction. Despite that, the officiating crew did not opt to take the basket away after reviewing the shot.

The Bruins did not need any favorable call on Thursday, storming out to a dominant start that all but wrapped up the game by halftime. Behind a 3-pointer and two free throws by Shipp, UCLA scored 16 of the game's first 20 points before building a 39-25 cushion at intermission.

UCLA's great start was accomplished with balance, as five players - four starters - managed at least seven points.

The only starter not able to do that was Love, who managed just two points as he was hampered by foul issues.

The Bruins continued to roll following the break, extending the lead to 63-38 with 11:22 to play on the strength of a 10-3 run. Shipp capped the burst with five straight points for his team.

Shipp added a 3-pointer just over three minutes later to make it 63-38, one of the nine baskets from the arc by UCLA in the second half. For the game, the Bruins shot 56 percent (14-of-25) from long range.

Russell Westbrook chipped in 12 points and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute added nine for UCLA, which had lost to Cal in overtime in the Pac-10 tournament last season.

Ryan Anderson scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Golden Bears (16-15), who went 4-of-15 on 3-pointers.

Patrick Christopher had 12 points and DeVon Hardin added 10 for Cal, which committed 18 turnovers, leading to 20 points for UCLA.