As the buzzer sounded at the end of UCLA’s 53-49 second round victory over Texas A&M, a collective sigh of relief seemed to echo from the pro-UCLA crowd at the Honda Center.
The No. 1-seeded Bruins have clawed their way back into games over the course of the season, but never when the stakes were so high ““ never when an entire season was on the line.
“That was reminiscent of a lot of games we seem to be in lately, where we’re having to make dramatic comebacks in the last few minutes, but the one thing I love about our team is that they know in their heart they’re always going to win the game,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “They’re going to find a way.”
On the final play of the game, it was Josh Shipp and Russell Westbrook, two UCLA players who had struggled to find much rhythm during the game, who sealed the win for the Bruins and helped earn a berth into the Sweet 16.
UCLA held a two-point lead with 9.5 seconds remaining after a Darren Collison layup high off the glass, when Texas A&M’s Donald Sloan found a small space near the top of the key.
The space was there until Shipp got his hand on the ball when Sloan pulled back for the jumper, blocking the final shot and leading to an emphatic dunk by Westbrook as time expired.
“Sloan was driving and my man cut through,” Shipp said. “I left my man and gambled and I was able to get the big play. It felt good, but it doesn’t make up for my individual performance.”
Westbrook collected the loose ball and took it to the other end for an emphatic slam as time expired.
“It was nice to be able to throw that last one down and get out of here with a win,” Westbrook added.
And it was just that: a near escape.
With the Bruins unable to generate much on the offensive end for much of the second half, freshman Kevin Love and junior Collison began to create opportunities for themselves late in the game.
Love began to play impenetrable defense, at one point blocking four shots in a few Aggie possessions, and Collison started creating opportunities off the dribble for both himself and Love.
“The plays are designed for us,” Collison said after the game. “We had to create ““ whether it was me on the ball screens creating for myself or my teammates, or whether it was Kevin getting it down low and getting an easy shot down low.
“The plays are designed for us … and we just took advantage of it.”
Though the Bruins made surges in the waning moments of the game, the most pivotal surge began with just over six minutes left when Love drew a foul and sank both free throws in a 1-and-1 situation to draw UCLA within two points.
With just under two minutes remaining, Love made back-to-back fadeaway jumpers over Texas A&M defenders, with the second giving the Bruins their first lead in over 20 minutes of play.
“Kevin’s two little fall-aways were incredible shots,” Howland said. “Your season’s on the line, and you can step up and make those plays: that’s why he’s a great player.”
Texas A&M wasn’t quick to fold, however; Joseph Jones made a quick layup to even the score again.
It was then Collison’s turn to carry the Bruin team. He found a seam to his right and banked consecutive layups in to help regain and maintain UCLA’s lead.
“Actually, that was vintage Darren Collison,” Howland said. “Driving down the lane, going right, high off the glass, kissing it in.
“The second one was really a blessing because that thing kind of rolled in for us. And believe me, I’m very thankful.”
The Bruins will continue to count their blessings leading up to Tuesday when they will leave for Phoenix for the West Regional, realizing they escaped by a very narrow margin and knowing that they will have to continue to find different ways to win when their bread-and-butter is nowhere to be found.
“I’m just really pleased we were able to sneak out of here with a win,” Howland said. “These are the kind of games you have to come out on top of to be able to advance in this tournament.”