
UCLA guard Jerime Anderson isn't looking at a sense of
urgency as a senior moment. Nobody could blame him if he did - especially after
the Bruins lost at Oregon State and Oregon last week.
Instead, the senior point guard took exception to the
idea that he should be looking at the clock to his college career after UCLA's blowout victory over
visiting Utah, 76-49, on Thursday night at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. The win was Coach Ben Howland's 200th victory at UCLA.
"I guess as a senior I don't have very much time left, but
that's not how I'm looking at it," said Anderson, who had 13 points, three
assists and three steals. "My sense of urgency is I want my team to win games.
We need to get back into the race of trying to win the Pac-12. There's a lot
time left. When my year is over, my year will be over. Until then, I am going
to practice as hard as I can and I am going to play as hard as I can. Whether I'm
a senior or a freshman, it should be the same for every player on the team."
Anderson answered the question with a bit of an edge. He
didn't snarl or yell, but it was apparent he wasn't counting UCLA (11-9, 4-4) out
of anything just yet. And his declaration came shortly after Howland praised his
effort against the Utes (5-15, 2-6).
"Very efficient, solid defense," Howland said. "Jerime
had one of his best games as a Bruin tonight."
Anderson was one of four Bruins to score in double
figures, joined by Josh Smith, who scored a game-high 14 points, David Wear (13
points) and Tyler Lamb (10 points).
And there were plenty of highlights from the blowout win:
* The Bruins (11-9, 4-4) shot a blistering 58.7
percent from the field, including a light's out 73.7 percent after halftime.
* UCLA stacked a 14-4 run over final 6:35 of
the first half into a dominating 42-17 run during a stretch that lasted 18:05.
*UCLA outrebounded Utah, 34-23.
* UCLA made 9 of 16 3-pointers and held Utah to just 5-for-16 after it made its first three 3-pointers of the game.
"It was a real confidence booster for us," Wear said. "We
had two really good days of practice and coming out and doing what we did in
practice with high intensity for 40 minutes and not having any letdowns (was
needed)."
Anderson said the Bruins can't suffer letdowns, such as
the second half against Oregon, again.
"We have to refuse to let it happen the rest of the year,"
Anderson said. "We have a lead like that and should be able to keep it."










