LOS ANGELES -- No. 2 UCLA has started the season at 7-0 thanks to a dominating 83-60 victory tonight over Atlantic 10 representative George Washington, but for many fans and those of us in the media, that's been the expectation all along for a team that reached the Final Four the last two years and is looking to raise banner #12 from its rafters this season.

While the Colonials kept it reasonably close in the first half after trailing by nine at halftime, UCLA junior guard-forward Josh Shipp sparked a huge second-half run that left the Bruins running away with the win with nearly 10 minutes still remaining in the game.

But Russell Westbrook was really the player of the game, recording a game-high 19 points to go along with eight assists (also a game-high) and seven rebounds (second to Kevin Love's 11).

UCLA, meanwhile, had three other scorers in double figures, as Shipp finished with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while Darren Collison had an impressive 14 points off the bench in his season debut. While the preseason All-American's availability was a gametime decision tonight, Collison said afterward in UCLA's post-game press conference that his knee is still a little sore, though he doesn't think it should hamper his play at all Sunday when the Bruins take on No. 8 Texas, a team that Posting Up got to see trampel then-No. 7 Tennessee in the StubHub! Legends Classic.

Freshman sensation Kevin Love was the fourth UCLA player to tally double-digit points, as the Lake Oswego, Ore., native recorded 11 points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 shooting from the free throw line.

On the other side of things, Miles Beatty came off the bench for George Washington coach Karl Hobbs and was the high-scorer for the Colonials with 12 points, while Maureece Rice finished with 11 but didn't score after halftime with both Collison and Westbrook taking turns guarding the 6-foot-1 senior.

Look for more on this game in Thursday's column before I head over to the Galen Center for tomorrow night's USC-Oklahoma matchup.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 12:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- It's garbage time already with three minutes to go in this one, and UCLA coach Ben Howland has substituted most of his reserves in the game in hopes of getting them some more game-time action during this early-season.

Meanwhile, the crazy UCLA fan that screams and dances behind the opponents basket during free throws, is still going at it, and he's got a little sidekick standing only three-and-a-half feet above the ground to join him in his antics.

Chace Stanback has just hit a three from the right corner to put UCLA up, 83-60, with a minute to go, and it's only a matter of how much George Washington wants to cut into this lead before the Bruins leave Pauley Pavilion with another convincing win.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 12:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- With the way this game continues to unfold, it's looking more and more like No. 2 UCLA will cruise to a 7-0 start to the 2007-08 season, as the Bruins have climbed out to a 72-45 lead with more than seven minutes remainining in the second half.

Kevin Love has just hit a couple free throws and Ben Howland's team continues to force George Washington into careless mistakes, as the Colonials were just called for an over-and-back violation. On the defensive end, Karl Hobbs has stuck to a 2-3 zone to minimize Love's impact down the low, but it hasn't worked too well with the Bruins shooting an impressive 55.8 percent from the floor at the moment.

After a Russell Westbrook bucket and deep three from GW's Miles Beatty, it's UCLA 74, George Washington 50, with most of the UCLA fans already headed for the exits to beat the traffic on the infamous 405. Oh, it sure is good to be home...

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- Junior forward Wynton Witherspoon has just officially fouled out for George Washington at the 13:40 mark, leaving Coach Karl Hobbs to find a suitable replacement on the bench.

And the seventh-year coach is now looking deeper into his bench after Xavier Alexander just picked up his fifth personal less than a minute later on a three-point play created by Darren Collison that has UCLA up, 58-39, with 13 minutes to go.

Make that 60-39, as Collison just stole the ball at halfcourt and went in for a finger-roll layup.

Westbrook, in the meantime, just took a pass from Collison and ran down the lane completely unguarded for a monster one-handed dunk.

And if there were any questions about how Collison would play in his season debut tonight, it looks like the preseason All-American is back to his own self again...

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- No. 2 UCLA has started the second half with a successful possession that ended in an easy flush for junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and junior guard-forward combo Josh Shipp has just pushed the Bruins' lead up to 51-37 after canning a three-pointer from the left wing and then taking a Kevin Love outlet pass and stuffing home a breakaway dunk that's got the Pauley Pavilion faithful in high spirits once again.

While the Bruins have made some mistakes the last few possessions in turning the ball over, the Colonials have yet to take advantage and capitalize on UCLA's mistakes and that could prevent Karl Hobbs' team from getting back in this game.

Shipp, in the meantime, continues his hot shooting from deep, hitting another three from nearly the same spot as before to put UCLA up, 54-37, with still more than 15 minutes remaining in the game.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- No. 2 UCLA has gotten out to a fast start in a high-scoring affair against George Washington, as the Bruins lead, 44-35, at halftime.

Despite falling behind by more than double digits, the Colonials have done a nice job of regrouping and giving Ben Howland's team a

One reason for that has been GW's three-point shooting, which currently stands at 46.2 percent after sinking six of 13 attempts. Free throws, however, have been a problem so far for Karl Hobbs' team, as the Colonials have hit just 7-of-13. Senior guard Maureen Rice has been the team's main offensive threat to this point, recording a team-high 11 points on three field goals from beyond the arc and a pair of free throws. Cheyenne Moore has also been an contributor for GW, talllying nine first-half points to go along with two rebounds.

For UCLA, sophomore Russell Westbrook has really come on strong in his seventh straight start for the Bruins, leading the team with 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor. But it's been at the free throw line where Westbrook has really done his damage, as the Hawthorne, Calif., native has made all seven of his attempts. Josh Shipp has added seven points to the Bruins' scoring line, and freshman phenom Kevin Love has been quiet so far with just five points and two field goal attempts.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- After seeing George Washington make a run to get back in the game at the 10-minute mark in the first half, No. 2 UCLA has responded nicely with a run of its own, and now leads, 40-31, with more than two minutes remaining in the first half.

Josh Shipp just hit a three-pointer from the right win after a nice pass from Russell Westbrook, who is sharing the backcourt duties with Darren Collison at the two-guard slot.

Speaking of Collison, the preseason All-American has looked a little rusty at times tonight but managed to just drain a three from the top of the key to put the Bruins back by 12 at 43-31.

And Lorenzo Mata-Real just made a huge block that got the crowd roaring as we go under a minute here at Pauley Pavilion.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- After running out to a 19-9 lead with 11 minutes remaining, No. 2 UCLA has let George Washington climb back into the game, holding just a three-point lead with 7:35 to go before halftime.

UCLA is struggling to shoot the ball after opening the game on fire from the perimeter, and UCLA coach Ben Howland has been forced to take a timeout with the way the Colonials have charged back in the last couple of minutes.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- Just as we got done talking about Darren Collison possibly making his season debut tonight for No. 2 UCLA, the preseason All-American quickly answered those questions early in the first half by entering the game and assuming his usual point guard responsibilities.

The rest of the Bruins, meanwhile, are out to a 11-2 start and the Colonials can't seem to even get a shot off without turning the ball over. Every time a GW player tries to penetrate against UCLA's man-to-man defense, another Bruin seems to be there to steal the ball or deflect a pass. After all, that's that Big East-style defense that Ben Howland brought over from his days at Pittsburgh.

But while UCLA has looked very active on the defensive end so far, Ben Howland's club is struggling to find its offensive rhythm on the last few possessions, so don't be surprised if GW starts to pick it up in the next couple of minutes with the Bruins' offense stalling for the moment.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)