UCLA and the three ball, move past Cal

You thought the Beavers hit a lot of threes? Ha.

No. 3 UCLA decided to put on a clinic and used California as the chalkboard. UCLA started a snowstorm of 3-pointers in the second half on its way to an 88-66 victory in the Pac-10 tournament quarterfinals Thursday. The top-seeded Bruins won their eighth in a row and advance to Friday’s semifinals against Southern California, which beat Arizona State 59-55.

In the game, Darren Collison scored 19 points, Josh Shipp 18, and freshman Kevin Love had nine and UCLA (29-3) had its best 3-point shooting game of the season, hitting 14-of-25. And even the math looked good.

“It’s playoff time now, you have to have a sense of urgency,” Love told the AP. “That’s what great teams do, they never let up. One loss and you’re out.”

Ryan Anderson scored 17 points and Patrick Christopher 12 for the ninth-seeded Golden Bears (16-15), who have lost eight of their last 10.

UCLA opened on a 16-4 run before DeVon Hardin’s dunk while Cal’s first field goal was more than 7 1/2 minutes into the game. But the Bears struggled offensively with possession more than shots. They committed 13 turnovers (18 total) that were prompted by UCLA.

Love, the Pac-10 player and freshman of the year, made an immediate impact. He hit three consecutive 3-pointers and Shipp added another for a 51-33 lead to start the second half. He has scored in double figures in all 32 games this season. He had seven rebounds and four assists, leaving to a standing ovation led by his parents, brother and sister sitting behind the Bruins’ bench.