A fortuitous fumble was the appropriate conclusion to what was
certainly UCLA’s sloppiest victory of the season.
Trevor Ariza bobbled the ball right into the arms of Cedric
Bozeman, who drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2.8
seconds remaining in overtime to give the Bruins a 69-66 victory
over Loyola Marymount Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.
“That was just how we planned it,” quipped UCLA
coach Ben Howland after watching the Bruins fritter away a 14-point
second half lead.
“We were fortunate to get the win. LMU did a great job of
crawling back into the game, and we did a really poor job of
understanding how to protect a lead.”
The Bruins (3-1) appeared to have their third straight home
victory all sewn up before unraveling in the waning moments of
regulation. A 55-41 advantage evaporated over the final seven
minutes as UCLA hoisted up a slew of ill advised shots and seemed
to lose its composure.
Three of the Bruins’ season-high 21 turnovers came in the
final two minutes, the most costly of which was by Ariza, who was
making his Bruin debut after suffering a collapsed lung in practice
last month.
The freshman forward launched a three-quarters court pass too
far for a streaking Brian Morrison, giving LMU possession of the
ball trailing by just three points with under one minute to
play.
Charles Brown capitalized on Ariza’s blunder, canning a
3-pointer from the corner on the ensuing play as the Lions (5-2)
extended the game to overtime.
“That was the biggest mistake of the game,” Ariza
said.
That says a lot considering the number of errors both teams
made.
Friday was the last day of final exams for both UCLA and LMU,
and each team seemed to be feeling the effects of a post-exams
malaise.
The Bruins and Lions shot 24 percent and 32 percent respectively
from the field in the first half as neither team converted a field
goal attempt until nearly six minutes had elapsed.
But even an ugly win suits UCLA just fine, especially since
there were quite a few bright spots that emerged from the
performance.
Ariza looked comfortable in his return to the court, posting 15
points and 7 rebounds in 32 minutes of action. His comeback
provided a boost for a Bruin bench that was held scoreless in its
previous game against Kentucky.
The UCLA reserves contributed 23 points and 16 rebounds as the
Bruins piled up a 54-37 advantage on the glass.
Perhaps the best news of the day for the Bruins came off the
court with word that senior T.J. Cummings will likely be available
to play Wednesday against UC Santa Barbara. Howland said that
he’s “almost certain” Cummings, who has been
sidelined all season due to academic trouble, achieved passing
grades in all his classes fall quarter, making him eligible to
return to the team immediately.
“We need T.J. back as soon as possible,” Howland
said. “We’re a much better team with him on the
floor.”
Cummings could be pressed into immediate duty against the
Gauchos as starting center Michael Fey’s status for the game
is in doubt. Fey was poked in the left eye late in the first half
against LMU and taken to the emergency room for observation.