Both Alfords took the blame for the first 20 minutes of UCLA’s game against Washington Thursday night.
By halftime, it seemed like the game was all but over.
The Bruins (12-9, 3-5 Pac-12) came out of the gates flat and careless, falling behind the Huskies (14-6, 6-2) by as many as 19 points with just over a minute to go in the first half.
“I take full responsibility because we obviously weren’t ready to play and that falls on my shoulders,” said coach Steve Alford. “It looked like we had several guys not into the game and not ready to play, and again that falls on me.”
UCLA had more turnovers, 12, than made field goals, 11, and allowed Washington to shoot 51.4 percent from the field in the first half. It got so bad that the home crowd at Pauley Pavilion rained down boos after the Huskies jumped out to a 17-point lead in less than 13 minutes.
“As a leader, I’ve got to try and make sure that everybody is focused,” said junior guard Bryce Alford. “It’s two hours out of the day, it shouldn’t be that hard.”
Alford said that the team got punched in the mouth and just didn’t react in the first half. The second half was a completely different story.
The Bruins fought back for the final 20 minutes. After playing just seven minutes in the first half, sophomore forward Jonah Bolden was on the court for all but one minute of the second. He finished with 11 rebounds, two steals and a block in what Steve Alford called one of the best games the forward has played.
“I came in and gave us that extra push and just tried to be active,” Bolden said.
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The entire team picked it up as well, showing the activity and energy that was completely nonexistent in the first half. UCLA held Washington to just 33.3 percent shooting in the second after the Huskies made over half their shots in the opening period.
Then Bryce Alford came alive, carrying the team for the final six minutes of the game. The guard was responsible for UCLA’s final 19 points of the game, scoring 17 himself and finding Parker for a wide-open dunk that accounted for the other two points.
He only missed one shot in the entire stretch and acted as an effective facilitator. Alford was able to find sophomore guard Isaac Hamilton for a good look on a jumper at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.
“I was just aggressive in the second half,” Alford said. “I should have been that way from the jump. I was a little passive in the first half and this team needs me to score, they need me to be aggressive and create offense for myself and for others.”
Bryce Alford finished the game with 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting. While after the game he was more than willing to take responsibility for the loss, he did his job.
Getting the entire team ready to play from the get-go? That’s on the other Alford.