When the buzzer let out its final ring at the end of double
overtime, Pauley Pavilion let out a collective sigh of relief.
It was no different for the team itself. After squandering
opportunities to put the game away in regulation and in the first
overtime, the Bruins had finally completed an emotional comeback,
toppling Washington State 80-77 despite a 15-point deficit at
halftime.
Coach Ben Howland, his voice raspy and hoarse after an extra 10
minutes of high-intensity basketball, had nothing but praise for
his team’s resolve.
“The thing I love about this team is that it never says
die, it never quits,” he said. “Even when we missed an
opportunity to close them out, we didn’t get disappointed or
upset but came back again.”
The win certainly didn’t come easily, but it was utterly
crucial the Bruins come up with the victory, considering No.
13-ranked Washington was next on the schedule and the Arizona road
trip on the horizon.
After crawling back from a big first-half deficit, UCLA (8-3,
2-1 Pac-10) led 69-66 with just six seconds left in regulation when
Cougar senior guard Thomas Kelati nailed a 3-pointer over freshman
Arron Afflalo to send the game into double overtime.
“(That) was a big shot, on the road, in a big game,”
freshman Jordan Farmar said. “I was hoping just to get a hand
on it, but he made it and I just thought, “˜That was a good
shot, now we have to do it again.'”
The two teams then traded baskets in the second overtime until
senior Brian Morrison came up with a steal, leading to a fast break
layup for senior Dijon Thompson. Up 77-75, the Bruins dodged a
bullet despite some shaky defense, as Washington State missed a
layup and Thompson snatched a critical defensive rebound. The
Cougars immediately fouled, but Thompson split his free throw
attempts, once again giving Washington State another chance to
tie.
But this time the Cougars (6-6, 1-2) couldn’t come up with
the shot, and Thompson converted two free throws to ice the game
for UCLA.
“It was a gut-check to be able to win a double-overtime
game being down 15 at the half,” Howland said.
“I’m proud of the character that they displayed to come
back and never, ever quit.”
A major reason the Bruins were able to stage their comeback was
the play of junior Ryan Hollins. After seeing a total of two
minutes of action last weekend, Hollins played with the intensity
that had been missing in previous weeks. The athletic 7-footer
finally utilized his jumping ability while grabbing seven rebounds,
five of them on the offensive glass. He also scored a season-high
13 points in 30 minutes, most of them coming from the free-throw
line, where he converted 9-of-15 attempts. Hollins virtually kept
UCLA afloat as the Bruins mounted their run late in regulation.
“We weren’t going to accept losing to this
team,” he said. “That wasn’t going to
happen.”
After beating UCLA at Pauley Pavilion for the first time in its
school history last year, the Cougars seemed poised to have a
veritable winning streak on the Bruins’ home court.
The Bruins were totally dominated in the first half. Their
porous defense gave up easy dribble penetration and allowed
bruising Cougar forward Jeff Varem to knock down 17 points and haul
in 15 rebounds. Offensively, UCLA could not figure out Washington
State’s defense, and as the Bruins’ frustration
mounted, their shots became ever wilder and more rushed.
But things turned around in the second half for UCLA. Morrison,
who finished the night with 15 points, provided an offensive spark,
scoring seven straight points midway through the second half. In
the first overtime period Farmar finally found his offensive groove
en route to leading UCLA with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
Although Thompson struggled from the floor, he displayed the
leadership of a senior while grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds.