PULLMAN, Wash. “”mdash; Even in a hard-fought victory, the UCLA basketball team was once again reminded that it cannot rely solely upon its perimeter shooting.
Junior sharpshooter Nikola Dragovic pushed UCLA to an early lead Thursday night at Washington State. But the Cougars (11-7, 3-3 Pac-10) adjusted savvily in the second, stormed back and nearly shocked UCLA before the Bruins (15-3, 5-1) sealed a 61-59 victory.
After the game UCLA players and coaches seemed most concerned with achieving a more balanced offense and scoring more often in the low-post.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a team that went far in the tournament, or won the Pac-10 Championship, without having a post presence,” senior forward Alfred Aboya said. “Last year we had Kevin (Love) down there. This year we’re trying to find it. Myself and Drew Gordon, we’re trying to have a presence down there.”
Washington State left Dragovic open on several plays in the first half, as Cougar defenders sought to prevent the Bruins from penetrating and scoring near the basket. Dragovic took advantage and hit six three-pointers, most of them without a hand in his face, and UCLA led 36-23 at the intermission.
In the second half, when Washington State adjusted and stayed with Dragovic, the junior scored only once. Without that shooting spark, the Bruins’ offense sputtered. UCLA scored just 25 points in the final 20 minutes, and only six of those points came in the paint. They shot only 9-for-22 from the field (40.9 percent), while the Cougars hit 66 percent of their attempts. In all, the Bruins were outscored 36-25 and nearly let another Pac-10 contest slip away.
“We need to pass to the post more,” coach Ben Howland said. “We have to do a better job of that.”
Despite the struggles, the Bruins weren’t as one-dimensional as they had been in their last loss to Arizona State and said they are working to become a more balanced team offensively.
Aboya said he felt like he got more looks Thursday than he had against Arizona State. And senior point guard Darren Collison was much more aggressive down the stretch, scoring six of UCLA’s final eight points. Aboya and Collison’s aggressive play around the basket allowed them to reach the charity stripe, where the seniors each hit two crucial free throws.
“We’re trying to get a balance,” Collison said. “It’s real hard when you have a good shooting team; you’re going to settle for three-pointers at times. I think when it’s all said and done we’re going to have a good balance, and when we have that balance our offense is going to start to roll.”
The concerns did not completely overshadow Dragovic, though, who had the best shooting night of his season and finished with a career-high 20 points.
“We were waiting for this to someday happen,” Howland said. “He really had it going. He had the feeling, and boom, he just let it go.”
Dragovic said that in the first half he felt more comfortable than he ever had in a college basketball game.
Howland said that he believes Dragovic is in the best shape of his career at UCLA ““ 25 pounds lighter than last season. That conditioning, and improved defense, has earned Dragovic plenty of playing time and a spot in the starting lineup. He has started the past four games, and has averaged 14.5 points per game over that stretch.
He too said he had been waiting for a big night, like this one, for a while, and that he was able keep his confidence up because he realized his coaches and teammates believed in him.