CORVALLIS, Ore. “”mdash; Sometimes being blind turns out to be a
natural advantage.
Any vision-deprived basketball fans were spared witnessing a
treacherously sloppy performance, even by UCLA standards. Between
the Bruins and Oregon State, the game saw 30 turnovers, 25 fouls
and sparse scoring.
But to their credit, UCLA (7-17, 4-11 Pac-10) found a way to
pull out a 69-66 victory despite not playing its best game in front
of the 6,521 fans in attendance at Ralph Miller Court last
night.
“It has been our trademark all season,” said senior
Jason Kapono, commenting on the team’s inability to play well
for a 40-minute stretch.
One of the key differences between last night’s poor
performance and the myriad of equally poor showings that resulted
in losses earlier in the season, was the leadership of seniors
Kapono and Ray Young.
Young scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in starting at
the point guard for the third straight game.
Kapono added 20 points and 13 rebounds, his second double-double
of the season. He also scored the 2,000th point of his career in
the first half.
“The seniors understand how critical games are late in the
season, and they provided great leadership,” UCLA head coach
Steve Lavin said. “In our recent improved play, they’ve
contributed in a major way.”
The other key difference was the ineffectiveness of OSU forwards
Phillip Ricci and Brian Jackson. When the Beavers beat UCLA at
Pauley Pavilion earlier this season, the two scored 26 and 18
points, respectively, but last night, they combined for just 25
points and were largely absent down the stretch.
“We cut 19 points off Ricci and Jackson from the first
game,” Lavin said. “And we were able to limit their
rebounding.”
Still, the Bruins weren’t able to fully capitalize on the
diminished game of the two forwards.
The only glimpse of a truly confident, inspired Bruin team came
in the opening moments of the game. After Oregon State guard Jimmie
Haywood opened the game with a three-pointer, UCLA went on a 10-0
tear with five points coming from Kapono.
But Oregon State (12-12, 5-10 Pac-10) battled back to tie the
game at 30 going into halftime, partly due to 13 Bruin turnovers
and UCLA’s inability to get to the foul line.
“We were very scrappy in the first half,” said
center Michael Fey, who contributed two points in seven minutes.
“We had 13 turnovers, which is very sloppy.”
After Haywood nailed a jumper to tie the game at 42 with 16
minutes left, UCLA made its only impactive run of the second half.
Young hit two three-pointers consecutively to give UCLA a 52-44
lead, and the Bruins never trailed again.
“In the last couple of games, I’ve just been trying
to stay in the moment,” said Young, who is on a three-game
scoring binge. “The more you worry about the future, you
can’t get things done right now. I’m just trying to
stay in the moment and take it game by game.”
A three-pointer by OSU forward Brian Jackson brought the Beavers
to within 64-63 with 1:09 remaining, but Young’s offensive
rebound followed by a lay-in with 46 seconds left sealed the win
for UCLA.
“We’re just happy to get a win,” said forward
T.J. Cummings, who finished with two points and four rebounds in 19
minutes. “We’ve had some tough times, but tonight we
worked hard and outcompeted them.”
UCLA has now won four years in a row at Oregon State. The win
also prevented the Beavers from sweeping the Bruins for the first
time since the 1987-1988 season.