Perfect, phenomenal and unbelievable was how UCLA coach Ben
Howland described the Bruins’ defense in the first half.
It was the best defense he’s seen all year, he
admitted.
Yet, in the second half with 7:30 remaining in the game and a
17-point cushion against Washington State, UCLA folded. Well,
almost.
The Bruins saw their lead evaporate as Washington State guard
Josh Akognon nearly single-handedly brought the Cougars back into
the game. UCLA needed five points and a botched wide-open lay-up by
the Cougars to breathe a sigh of relief and hold on for a 63-61
victory.
“That’s a very important win we got tonight,”
Howland said. “It’s a credit for these kids to handle
any adversity.”
No. 11 UCLA (14-2, 4-1 Pac-10) now sits atop the Pac-10
standings and is off to its best start since the 1994-1995 NCAA
Championship team despite having an injury-riddled team that saw
five players in civilian clothes. Arron Afflalo, who played 38
minutes and scored 18 points, said that during the game his legs
got heavy and that may have been the reason why the Cougars got
back into the game.
Despite shooting a paltry 32 percent in the first half,
Washington State (9-4, 2-2) caught fire. No player more so than
Akognon.
Akognon, who was named Pac-10 Player of the Week last week for
his 27-point effort in the upset win over No.10 Washington, torched
Afflalo and Jordan Farmar in the second half.
Akognon was held scoreless in the first half but in the second
he rattled home a game-high 25 points on 6-for-8 shooting from
3-point range. At one point the 5-foot-10 guard hit three
consecutive 3-pointers which sparked a 19-4 run to bring the
Cougars to a single-digit deficit 54-45 with 5:47 remaining in the
game.
“Coach said don’t let him catch and shoot;
don’t give him any space,” Afflalo said. “I
thought I did well for the most part but he made a good move and
broke me down. One play, I slipped and fell and he hit another
three. He carried his team down the stretch.
“It was frustrating watching him bring his team back in
when we had a double-digit lead. There’s no way this team
should’ve came back.”
Washington State got to within one, twice in the final minute.
With under 30 seconds to play, Akognon converted all three of his
free throws after being fouled by Afflalo on a 3-point attempt.
The Cougars went to a full-court press and tried to trap
UCLA’s Darren Collison, but he went coast-to-coast and scored
on a left-hand lay-up with two defenders on him.
“It was a huge play,” Afflalo said. “I’m
glad Darren had the confidence to go there and lay up. It was
contested as well and he needed a lot of focus.”
With 19.4 seconds left, the ball was Akognon’s hands. He
was fouled at mid-court by Afflalo. Akognon used all sides of the
rim on the first free throw and sank the second to bring the
Cougars within one point, 62-61.
Afflalo scored the last and decisive point of the game after
making one of two free throws with 13 seconds remaining. Cougar
guard Kyle Weaver missed a wide-open lay-up as the final buzzer
rang.
A reason why the Bruins built such a large lead in the first
half was because of UCLA’s frontcourt. The freshman big men
Luc Richard Mbah A Moute and Alfred Aboya laid solid screens on the
Cougar defenders, leaving Farmar, who scored 12 points and had
seven assists, and Afflalo with wide-open looks and uncontested
lay-ups.
With their contribution, UCLA led by as much as 14 points three
times in the first half.
They put away the frustration they suffered against the Cougars
last season, and they put together a valiant effort in the first
game after learning that Josh Shipp would be lost for the
season.
This win meant everything for Afflalo, who admitted that this
win was something that the Bruins needed, especially knowing that
from here on out they will be short-handed for the rest of
season.
“It’s important we get off to a good start. A lot of
guys are playing a lot of minutes and you don’t want
something like that to haunt you at the end of the season,”
Afflalo said. “It’s vital.”