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Roll, UCLA crush Wyoming

Dec 24, 2008 - 7:35 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Despite an injury to Josh Shipp, UCLA kept right on rolling thanks to Michael Roll.

Roll finished with a career-high 25 points as the 10th-ranked Bruins throttled Wyoming, 113-62, on Tuesday.

Shipp, who ranks second on the team with 11.2 points per game, missed his second straight game with a jammed left thumb.

The Bruins did not miss a beat, though, as Roll eclipsed his previous career high of 16 points set during Saturday's 76-59 victory of Mercer with 18 points in the first half.

The junior swingman, who hit 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, finished 9-of-13 from the field with five 3-pointers.

Leading scorer Darren Collison and freshman Malcolm Lee had 16 points apiece and Drew Gordon added 14 and 11 rebounds for UCLA (9-2), which earned its fifth straight win.

"It was a lot of fun out there," Collison said. "Anytime we get up and down with a team, it's basically a fun style of play."

Sean Ogirri scored 14 points to pace Wyoming, which stayed close for the first 10 minutes of the contest before the Bruins took control for good.

Tyson Johnson hit a pair of free throws to pull the Cowboys within 24-20 8:34 into the game.

Roll's jumper on the ensuing possession started a 28-11 run that he capped with his third 3-pointer of the first half with 2:22 remaining.

"Our defense started to tighten down," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "Obviously, forcing them into 29 turnovers is a huge stat."

Roll extended UCLA's bulge to 59-34 entering the locker rooms when he drained another three with five seconds left in half.

"I thought offensively we were really clicking in the first half," Howland said. "Darren and Michael shot the ball really well."

The 59 points scored were the most the Bruins have scored under Howland.

"It was the first time we got punched in the mouth," Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. "It's great when you play a top-10 team and they expose things."

UCLA, which has been plagued by poor shooting at times, hit 64 percent (21-of-33) of its shots from the field in the opening 20 minutes and was 8-of-12 (66 percent) from 3-point range.

"Even though we're a defensive team, we have talent," Collison said. "We have players who can shoot and score."

Roll opened the second half with yet another 3-pointer as the Bruins cruised to the care-free victory.