Nail Biter at the New Galen Center

Funny. While I was writing the latest political ramblings, I watched the UCLA Bruins battle the USC Trojans in the new Galen Center (the new facility in which the "other" team plays basketball). *Sigh*. It was hard to type while sitting on the edge of my seat. During the majority of the game, UCLA was behind ten points. After last week's loss to the University of Oregon and their plummet from number one to four, I thought, "When it rains, it pours".

But, you have to hand it to my team. With utter determination, the Bruins bounced back and rallied to win against their mid-town rivals. All starters played great despite the constant droning of the hated Trojan fight song. Darren Collison, of course, was sensational. Aaron Aflalo and Lorenzo Mata weren't bad either. Mata surprised me. He did a spectacular job with making it to the hoops with ease.

But, the Bruins have to work with their first quarter sluggishness. If they play lackidasial in the first half, they reap what they sow when they trail behind the other team (case in point with their last game against Oregon). However, I was pleased with the free throws made by UCLA.

Conventional wisdom always says that free throws are what eventually wins the game. You can always say the three-pointers help things along, but it always comes down to the charity strike. In this area, my team keeps on improving.

In the end, I was impressed with their ability to be resilient when the chips are against them. They don't call UCLA the "gutty little Bruins" for nothing. ;)