Bruins have Mbah a Moute back on board

PHOENIX -- As the clock ticked past midnight and toward 1 a.m. before Saturday’s game, forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was still in the UCLA trainer’s suite, getting his left ankle iced.

But by late in the first half, right after Josh Shipp missed a three-pointer, teammate Alfred Aboya knew Mbah a Moute’s ankle was not a problem.

“That one offensive rebound he got off Josh’s miss, when he grabbed the rebound and put it back,” Aboya said. “That’s when I knew.”

After sitting out two games and playing tentatively in two others, Mbah a Moute was himself again in the 76-57 UCLA victory over Xavier that sent the Bruins to the Final Four for the third consecutive year.

Mbah a Moute had 13 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot.

“I’m especially pleased with Luc getting a double-double,” UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. “When he gets on the boards like that -- seven offensive rebounds is incredible.”

Mbah a Moute said his ankle was pain-free for the first time since he sprained it against USC in a semifinal of the Pacific 10 Conference tournament.

It showed.

“I think he got confidence in his ankle,” UCLA assistant coach Donny Daniels said. “He couldn’t push off of it before, but he got more confidence with his rebounding. He was getting in there in the crowd, not worrying about it, and he played tremendous.”

Now Mbah a Moute and the Bruins are back where they have been before, the Final Four.

He is the quiet common thread, the only player who has been a starter on all three Final Four teams.

Josh Shipp, another of the three juniors in the starting lineup, didn’t play in the first Final Four under Howland because he missed most of that season with a hip injury.

Darren Collison, the other junior starter, was Jordan Farmar’s backup that year before taking over at the point last season.

Russell Westbrook, a sophomore, played eight minutes as a freshman in last season’s NCAA semifinal loss to Florida.

Kevin Love, of course, is playing his first season in a Bruins uniform.

“Obviously the last two times we’ve been there, the outcome -- we were not pleased with the outcome,” Mbah a Moute said. “Hopefully this time was are going to advance and have a different outcome.”

The difference between Saturday’s game and Thursday’s somewhat shaky West Regional semifinal against Western Kentucky was defense, Mbah a Moute said.

“We’ve just got to play defense for 40 minutes,” he said. “We played defense for 20 minutes the last game we played. The second half, they came back and almost tied it up. We’ve just got to play defense the whole game.”

The Bruins played the whole game against Xavier, and Mbah a Moute played at full strength, getting his sixth double-double of the season and finishing one rebound shy of his career high.

“I mean, it’s nice, obviously, going in and doing it for my team,” he said. “I’ve been hurt the past couple of games. Today, it felt good. I got a lot of treatment last night and the day before.”

There he was in the first half, making a jumper from around the foul line, then scoring off Westbrook’s drive and dump, then putting back Shipp’s miss.

By halftime, Mbah a Moute led all UCLA players with nine points and eight rebounds -- and the Bruins had a nine-point lead that they would stretch to 22 during the second half.

Afterward, during a subdued celebration, Mbah a Moute stood nearby as some of his teammates cut down the nets.

“We’ve been the last two years, and it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to,” he said.

“This tournament is not over.”

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robyn.norwood@latimes.com