FIBA Basketball
CMR - Cameroon frosh awesome in first NCAA Tourney appearance
SAN DIEGO (NCAA) - Cameroon are not among the powerhouses of African basketball right now but it may be just a matter of time with UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute waiting in the wings. Mbah a Moute, a freshman at
SAN DIEGO (NCAA) - Cameroon are not among the powerhouses of African basketball right now but it may be just a matter of time with UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute waiting in the wings.
Mbah a Moute, a freshman at the PAC-10 school, led his team to a 78-44 demolition of Belmont on the opening day of the NCAA Tournament.
In a matchup of Bruins, Mbah a Moute, collected a season-high 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists as second-seeded UCLA pulled away from 15th-seeded Belmont, 78-44, in the first round of the Oakland Region.
Ryan Hollins and reserve Darren Collison added 10 points apiece for UCLA (28-6), who won their eighth straight game and will meet 10th-seeded Alabama in the second round Saturday. Crimson Tide coach Mark Gottfried was an assistant on UCLA's 1995 national championship squad.
The California squad held just a 27-23 lead before closing the first half on an 8-0 run. The Pac-10 Conference champions went on a 25-5 burst out of the break to open a whopping 60-28 advantage and cruised thereafter.
"Early on in the game, I was just trying to get my team-mates together," Mbah a Moute said. "Everybody was excited and needed to settle down."
"I was really pleased with the effort," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "I thought we were very unselfish and really started to play well as the game progressed the last 30 minutes of the game."
UCLA, who have won a record 11 national championships and is making its 40th appearance in the "Big Dance," shot 54% (30-of-56) and limited Belmont to an anaemic 29% (17 of 59).
Belmont (20-11), who led by as many as six points midway through the first half, had won 12 of their previous 13 games to claim its first Atlantic Sun championship.
"We're disappointed for sure," Belmont coach Rick Byrd said. "You don't want your first national tournament appearance to be a no-contest. UCLA was just much better."
UCLA scored 22 points off 14 Belmont turnovers. The Tennessee squad scored just 10 points off 14 UCLA giveaways.
This was the first meeting between the teams.
PA Sport
Mbah a Moute, a freshman at the PAC-10 school, led his team to a 78-44 demolition of Belmont on the opening day of the NCAA Tournament.
In a matchup of Bruins, Mbah a Moute, collected a season-high 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists as second-seeded UCLA pulled away from 15th-seeded Belmont, 78-44, in the first round of the Oakland Region.
Ryan Hollins and reserve Darren Collison added 10 points apiece for UCLA (28-6), who won their eighth straight game and will meet 10th-seeded Alabama in the second round Saturday. Crimson Tide coach Mark Gottfried was an assistant on UCLA's 1995 national championship squad.
The California squad held just a 27-23 lead before closing the first half on an 8-0 run. The Pac-10 Conference champions went on a 25-5 burst out of the break to open a whopping 60-28 advantage and cruised thereafter.
"Early on in the game, I was just trying to get my team-mates together," Mbah a Moute said. "Everybody was excited and needed to settle down."
"I was really pleased with the effort," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "I thought we were very unselfish and really started to play well as the game progressed the last 30 minutes of the game."
UCLA, who have won a record 11 national championships and is making its 40th appearance in the "Big Dance," shot 54% (30-of-56) and limited Belmont to an anaemic 29% (17 of 59).
Belmont (20-11), who led by as many as six points midway through the first half, had won 12 of their previous 13 games to claim its first Atlantic Sun championship.
"We're disappointed for sure," Belmont coach Rick Byrd said. "You don't want your first national tournament appearance to be a no-contest. UCLA was just much better."
UCLA scored 22 points off 14 Belmont turnovers. The Tennessee squad scored just 10 points off 14 UCLA giveaways.
This was the first meeting between the teams.
PA Sport