Well, now I just feel cheated.
I was all ready to rip into UCLA when the Bruins went down by 20
at halftime.
To USC.
At home.
I had a plenty of barbs and witticisms ready to toss out. I was
going to say things like, “The only things more disjointed
and sadly pathetic than the Bruin offense were those god-awful
“˜dance routines’ by the Trojan cheerleaders.”
I was prepared to lash out at the complete lack of effort and
guts by the Bruins in that first half. ‘SC came in and
punched UCLA right in the mouth, in Pauley Pavilion. And the Bruins
just sat there with their arms at their sides for the first 20
minutes of the game, doing absolutely nothing about the mockery the
Trojans were making of them.
I could’ve gone on with some clever and amusing similies
comparing the ugliness of their first half performance with
something really really ugly, like a cross between a horse, an
opossum and Desmon Farmer.
Oh, I was ready all right. Surely UCLA would feel the wrath of
my bitter tongue.
But darn it if those Bruins didn’t come back ““ and
in a big way.
Pauley Pavilion got louder and more excited as UCLA crept slowly
back into the game. The fans cheered when the Bruins got within 15
points. It was on its feet at 12. The student section went
ballistic when the lead was cut to 10, and even the alumni
““Â whose preferred method of cheering appears to be
silent applause ““Â were making something resembling
clapping noises.
UCLA needed this win. It needed it badly, and not just for
school pride. The Bruins had lost three straight and were on the
verge of spiraling into disaster. A loss to the Trojans meant that
UCLA would be in the midst of a four-game losing streak in the
Pac-10.
(Kind of like football, eh?)
A victory would mean so much, while a loss would deal
UCLA’s NCAA tournament hopes a crushing blow. As such, the
massive comeback effort was as desperate as the Bruin’s
circumstances.
Everything UCLA had done in the first half didn’t seem to
matter anymore.
Never mind the fact that none of the starters ““ yes, none
of them ““ had scored by halftime with the sole exception of a
rejuvenated Ryan Hollins. T.J. Cummings finally got things started,
scoring five straight, while Dijon Thompson fired away and hit
three huge bombs from downtown. Hollins was dunking on putbacks,
Cedric Bozeman got the offense working again, and everything
pointed to a perfect ending.
Down 71-68 with just over two minutes left, Pauley was ready to
explode. Farmer and Errick Craven were bricking the front ends of
free throws, and the Bruins had their opportunity.
Oops, there it goes.
Cummings misfired on a 20-footer from the top of the key,
Bozeman had a costly turnover, and just like that the comeback was
all for naught.
And just like that, UCLA’s tournament chances biked out.
Now, it’s going to take some miracle, a big upset of
Stanford/Arizona or a strong run in the Pac-10 tournament, just to
make sure the Bruins get considered.
But more importantly, as UCLA fumbled its way to a loss against
those freaking Trojans, virtually any momentum built up by the team
has been decimated. When the last seconds ticked off the clock, all
I could do was sigh and curse myself for ever believing they could
come back.
I was all set to lay into them, but now I don’t even have
the heart.
Now, I just feel cheated.
Ugh, weak sauce status. E-mail Yuhl if you understand at
cyuhl@media.ucla.edu.