SEATTLE, Wash. “”mdash; Bruin freshman Darren Collison had a
chance on Saturday to tie the game with two free throws with 9.2
seconds remaining.
The first one rimmed out.
Sophomore Jordan Farmar had a chance to tie the game and send it
into overtime with a last-second 3-pointer.
The shot couldn’t get over the outstretched arm of
Washington’s Brandon Roy.
Following a 70-67 loss to the Huskies on Saturday at Bank of
America Arena, sophomore Arron Afflalo, with as pained a look on
his face as any he’s exhibited following a game this season,
had a chance to explain that No. 13 UCLA could have claimed victory
on Saturday.
Instead, Afflalo was surprised the Bruins even had a chance, let
alone chances, to catch No. 23 Washington.
“Yeah, I was,” Afflalo said.
Surprised that UCLA had multiple chances to win despite his and
Farmar’s lowest combined scoring output of the season.
Surprised that the Bruins nearly overcame their 20 turnovers. And
surprised his team almost withstood Washington’s parade to
the free-throw line 34 times in a game that featured 54 fouls, 63
free throws and about as much flow as the Los Angeles River.
“And despite all that, we were right there. We just turned
the ball over, made careless mistakes, and missed some open
opportunities,” Afflalo said. “When we play a team that
is on our level, you can’t make those kind of mistakes and
expect to win.”
Then the final result shouldn’t have come as a shock.
The Bruins’ seven-game road winning streak and six-game
conference winning streak were snapped. Their stranglehold on the
Pac-10 was loosened, as UCLA (20-5, 10-3 Pac-10) is now tied in the
loss column with Cal atop the conference standings.
Saturday’s loss was the first time Washington (18-5, 7-5)
has swept the Bruins since 1987.
It was also the first time UCLA was asked to win a game in which
both Afflalo and Farmar struggled as mightily on offense as they
did on Saturday. The duo went 4 for 23 from the field and combined
for just 18 points.
Roy, Washington’s leading scorer, poured in 20 points on
Saturday.
Even the seldom-celebrated interior play of Ryan Hollins (7
points, 9 rebounds) and Alfred Aboya (15 points, 8 rebounds), who
UCLA coach Ben Howland said played his best game of the season,
wasn’t enough to compensate for the struggling guard
play.
Farmar, who finished with 13 points and five assists to go along
with seven turnovers, followed his teammates into the locker room
after Saturday’s game with a message that couldn’t
wait.
“I told them, “˜My fault,'” said Farmar,
who tweaked his sprained left ankle in the first half. “I
could have done some other things to change the outcome.”
As for Afflalo, he also looked in the mirror following the loss.
But this time it didn’t inspire him to find a gym and work on
his jumpshot after being harassed into shooting 2 for 10 from the
field for only five points, his second-lowest total of the
season.
Instead, the sophomore found himself in the same position
following losses to Cal, Washington, and West Virginia at Pauley
Pavilion earlier this season ““ wanting to say UCLA had
finally turned the corner and become an elite team, but admitting
the Bruins are simply not there yet.
“It’s the fourth time this season we’ve been
right there, about to crack the top 10 and get on a roll, and make
strides,” Afflalo said. “We’re a good team, but
once again it’s a setback. We haven’t found the answer
four times in a row.
“Not much more else I need to say besides, “˜We need
to play better.'”
At this point, UCLA might settle for two halves of solid
basketball to get it over that hump.
In the first half on Saturday, the Bruins committed 14 of their
20 turnovers.
They missed six of their 10 free throws.
And they inadvertently ignited a 15-3 Washington run after
Hollins and the Huskies’ Ryan Appleby exchanged some
not-so-pleasant words after the Bruin center was fouled, which had
UCLA coach Ben Howland running all the way to Washington’s
basket calling for a timeout.
“To win on the road against a really good team, you have
to make your foul shots and take care of the ball,” Howland
said. “If we have 12 turnovers instead of 20, we probably win
the game.”
Yet while Afflalo was surprised that the Bruins clung close to
Washington for the majority of the game, many of the Huskies
weren’t.
Roy was quick to point out that Saturday’s game was the
most physical he’s played in all year, which prohibited one
team from running away from the other, as there were 11 ties and 11
lead-changes.
“They’re always going to stay in the game no matter
what,” Washington’s Bobby Jones said. “When
you’re so physical and you rebound well and other people step
up, you have a good team. And they have a good team.”
Jones’ coach agreed.
“UCLA is not some underachieving team without talent that
all they have is to play hard,” Washington coach Lorenzo
Romar said. “They play hard as if that’s all they have,
but yet they have talent and that’s a great
combination.”
But one that wasn’t potent enough to win on Saturday.