BERKELEY “”mdash; With 2:35 remaining in regulation play,
UCLA’s leader and most reliable down-to-the-wire player was
on the bench.
“I was just trying to keep my head in the game. It’s
frustrating,” said sophomore guard Jordan Farmar, who
penciled in just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting. “You want
to be on the court and things aren’t going well.”
Farmar had struggled all game and often looked to the referees
for help.
Instead, freshman guard Darren Collison was put into the game.
He was the fresher man. He penetrated when the Bruins needed it,
scoring 11 points in 18 minutes of play. He took care of the ball,
turning it over only once. Most importantly, he defended
Cal’s guards well.
“Darren Collison played his best defense of the
year,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “He really made an
impact in the second half.”
But with the game on the line, Howland had Farmar in.
Tied at 55-55 with five seconds remaining, Farmar, who had
teammate Arron Afflalo open in the corner, fired a fallaway 14-foot
jumper instead.
“Jordan wants the ball, I want the ball,” Afflalo
said. “I’m happy with him taking the shot. I have all
the confidence in the world he’s going to make it.”
He didn’t. Airball. Overtime.
Like any good player, Farmar didn’t let that final shot
dictate his play. Farmar padded UCLA’s 61-58 lead with 2:27
to go by taking Cal guard Richard Midgley one-on-one and kissing an
8-foot leaner off the glass to give the Bruins a five-point lead.
Farmar, who scored UCLA’s last six points, also hit all four
of his free throws at the end of the game.
“I told him to keep positive,” UCLA senior guard
Cedric Bozeman said. “We needed him to make big plays for us
and he did at the end.”
SPECIAL VISIT: Former Bruin and current Golden
State Warrior guard Baron Davis was the first person in the Bruins
locker room after UCLA’s win over Cal. Davis, who was a
player at UCLA in 1997-1998, was congratulating Bruin players left
and right.
“It was great to see them pull this win out,” Davis
said. “This brings back memories. The whole atmosphere.
That’s what is so great about being here.”
The one player that caught Davis’ attention was Afflalo,
who he plays pick-up games with in the UCLA Student Activities
Center during the summer.
“I played with him a couple of times, and he’s a
grown individual,” Davis said. “He’s just getting
better and better and that’s what you want.
“We need (Farmar and Afflalo) to play like that in the
NCAA Tournament. That’s the only way we’ll
win.”
Asked what he expects the Bruins to do in March, a big smile
crossed Davis’ face.
“National championship baby,” he said.
DRIBBLERS: There was a sellout crowd with 8,877
on hand at Haas Pavilion to witness UCLA’s victory over Cal.
… The last time the two teams met, at Pauley Pavilion, Cal
outrebounded UCLA 32-25. This time around the Bruins had the upper
hand, grabbing three more boards, 31-28. … Mbah a Moute tied his
career high with 4 steals in 37 minutes of play. … In the first
half Collision converted the most field goals for the Bruins. He
had only 2. … UCLA had 11 fast break points while Cal had none.
… The game had 13 lead changes.