PHOENIX – Senior guard Courtney Lee enters today’s game against top-seeded UCLA in the West regional semifinal just 19 points shy of breaking Jim McDaniels’ all-time career scoring record.

“It’d mean a lot if I did that,” Lee said. “But that’s not my mindset going into this game. My mindset is to go in there and do whatever it takes to win and play for my team.”

Lee and McDaniels have talked periodically throughout the season, but Lee said he and McDaniels haven’t talked since senior night on Feb. 23.

“He told me if anyone broke the record he wanted it to be me because of the way I carry myself with high-class and hearing those words from him meant a lot to me,” Lee said.

Lee currently sits second on the all-time career scoring list with 2,220 points.

Being a Cinderella

Western enters the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament as the lowest seed left of the 16 teams remaining, earning them the title by many as a Cinderella team in this year’s tournament.

“I guess it takes a lot of pressure off it, in a sense,” senior guard Ty Rogers said. “That makes it a lot of fun. We just go out and try to do the things we’ve done all year and enjoy doing them.”

Breaks from the Stripes

By some accounts, UCLA has had its fair share of questionable calls go its way late this season, most notably in its second round game against Texas A&M after pictures were released that clearly show Texas A&M guard Donald Sloan being grabbed on the wrist by UCLA guard Josh Ship with just seconds remaining in the game and the Aggies trailing by a point.

“I don’t think any one call decides a game,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “If you go back and watch the entire game, is any one call more important than any other call?”

Western enters the game averaging 21.3 personal fouls a game, while UCLA averages 14.2 personal fouls a game.

Reach Andrew Robinson at sports@chherald.com.