UCLA outlasts Pitt to reach Elite 8


San Jose, CA (Sports Network) - Arron Afflalo poured in 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds as UCLA cruised past Pittsburgh, 64-55, to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Despite shooting 3-of-11 from the field, Afflalo converted all 10 of his free throws and the Bruins shot 23-of-26 from the charity stripe.

"We never really pulled away," Afflalo said. "That team kept competing. You could hear the coaching staff encouraging them, allowing them to keep competing. They did a great job of staying in the game. We were very fortunate tonight."

Josh Shipp had 16 points and five boards for the second-seeded Bruins (29-5), who have won three in a row and move on to play Kansas in the West Regional final on Saturday. Darren Collison added 12 points in the victory.

UCLA finished 43 percent shooting from the field.

Ben Howland, who left as Pittsburgh's head coach following the 2002-03 campaign, faced his good friend and former assistant Jamie Dixon for the first time.

"I hope we never have to play again," said Howland. "You know, probably will have to at some point, assuming we can both get back in the tournament here again in the near future."

Ronald Ramon scored 12 points for the third-seeded Panthers (29-8), who were coming off an 84-79 extra session win over Virginia Commonwealth. Levance Fields chipped in 11 points, while Aaron Gray donated 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in defeat.

UCLA, which led the entire game, used a 7-1 spurt -- ended with a pair of free throws by Collison -- to take its biggest lead at 27-19 with 3:23 left in the first half.

Afflalo drilled a three-pointer two minutes later, but Sam Young hit a jumper to cut Pittsburgh's deficit to 32-26 at the break.

It was much of the same in the second half with the Bruins leading by as many as 12. The Panthers, though, cut within five, 56-51, on two treys by Fields and another by Ramon with 1:22 to play.

Michael Roll then buried a jumper as UCLA scored eight of the final 12 points in the contest.

Pittsburgh shot 36 percent from the floor.

Game Notes

UCLA outrebounded Pittsburgh, 27-19...The Panthers shot 44 percent from three- point range, while the Bruins converted 38 percent from beyond the arc...UCLA now has 93 NCAA Tournament wins, which is second all-time behind Kentucky (100)...The Bruins hold a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series.

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