Bruins' defense too much for LSU

UCLA's 59-45 victory put it one win away from its 12th national title.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The UCLA defense had blocked his final shot and he had committed his final foul. Wearily, Glen Davis plopped down on the bench and shook his head.
Oh, Baby, can the Bruins play defense.
Throw some offense in there on the same night and not even LSU and its 6-foot-9, 310-pound standout, the guy known as "Big Baby," had a chance. The Bruins (32-6) shut Davis down Saturday en route to a 59-45 victory over the Tigers that put them one win away from their 12th national title.
"They came out and punched us and we didn't recover from it," Davis said.
"We're capable of scoring," forward Cedric Bozeman said. "People get so caught up into the ugliness of the games because other teams are not scoring."
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute led UCLA with 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting. He also had nine rebounds, two steals and plenty of help.
Lorenzo Mata was strong in the middle, capping Davis at least twice, sending him to the floor a few other times and generally driving him nuts. Big Baby huffed and puffed and sweated his way up and down the court, ending his night and his season several pounds and one championship dream lighter.
Big Baby struggles
He shot 5-for-17, finished with 14 points and seven rebounds and was serenaded with chants of "Ba-by, Ba-by" by the UCLA fans after he took a frustration foul on Bruins guard Darren Collison early in the second half, trailing by 23.
LSU shot 16-for-50 (32 percent), and didn't make a 3-pointer. The 45 points for LSU were the second-lowest total in the Final Four since the NCAA adopted the shot clock in 1986. That matched UCLA's defensive effort against Memphis in the regional championship game.
Bruins forward Alfred Aboya set the tone early in the first half when he swatted Darrel Mitchell's shot into the stands, then glowered at Mitchell as he fell to the floor. A few minutes later, Mbah a Moute stepped into an LSU passing lane for a steal that led to a bucket for Collison.
The Bruins pushed their lead to as many as 16, 3 1/2 minutes before the break. The start of the second half put it out of reach.
Mbah a Moute dunked twice, Ryan Hollins took an alley-oop from Jordan Farmar for another slam, then Farmar threw one up from 28 feet with the shot clock going off and swished it for a 48-27 lead.
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