There were six seconds on the clock. UCLA was down by one. Behind the backboard was not where Josh Shipp wanted to be with the ball in his hands.
But that’s exactly where he found himself after Cal’s Eric Vierneisel cut him off trying to drive to the basket for the game-winner.
Shipp responded by launching an impossible arcing shot that sailed over the corner of the backboard and swished perfectly through the hoop with 1.8 seconds left to give UCLA an 81-80 lead and send the Pauley Pavilion crowd into hysterics.
“It’s easy to do in “˜Horse’ when it’s just two people in the gym, but it was one of those tough shots,” Shipp said. “It was a game-winner, any game-winner is tough, especially one over the backboard. I’ve never seen anything like that. I think it was just one of those movie shots; it was like a dream.”
On the next possession, an excited Shipp punched Cal’s long-range inbound pass out of bounds. Time appeared to expire, but 0.7 seconds were eventually put back on the clock, and No. 3 UCLA (28-3, 16-2 Pac-10) had to postpone its celebration until after Patrick Christopher’s desperation 3-pointer came up short.
“That was probably a mistake (to punch the ball),” Howland said. “But I think he was a little excited from just winning the game for us at the other end. So you know what? I’ll let him slide on this one.”
Shipp’s baseline shot was a nightmare for Cal (15-14, 6-12 Pac-10) and coach Ben Braun, not only because it cost them the game, but also because by NCAA regulations it may not have been legal. Rule 7, Section 1, Article 3 of the NCAA rule book stipulates that if a ball goes over the backboard from any direction it is out of bounds.
Shipp’s miracle shot was not the only questionable call that helped UCLA.
With UCLA down four points seconds earlier, Love threw up a 3-pointer with his legs kicked out, hoping to get fouled. There was no whistle, but the shot would go down for the most important of his game-high 22 points, pulling UCLA within one.
When Cal inbounded the ball, Shipp and Russell Westbrook double-teamed Ryan Anderson in the corner. Westbrook swiped at the ball, which went off Anderson and out of bounds to UCLA, setting the stage for Shipp’s heroics. While it appeared to some that Anderson may have been fouled by Westbrook, no such call was made by the referees.
“I feel bad for our guys,” Braun told reporters after the game. “Anderson was fouled, but they didn’t call it. No way that should have happened. I wasn’t concerned with the shot (by Shipp); I was more concerned with the foul not being called.”
On Thursday, UCLA also got the better end of a late close against Stanford, when it clinched the Pac-10 title with some help from a controversial foul call against Stanford’s Lawrence Hill. Guard Darren Collison went to the line and hit both free throws to send the game into overtime, where UCLA would get the victory.
As they had against Stanford, the Bruins spent most of the game Saturday playing catch-up. After going up 2-0 on a basket from Collison 16 seconds in, the Bruins would not take the lead again until Shipp’s game-winner put them up one. Cal relied on Anderson’s 21 points and shot 56 percent from the field.
The Bruins, possibly still feeling the aftereffects of the emotional Stanford game in the early going, fell behind by as many as 11 points in the first half. While UCLA seemed able to cut into Cal’s lead almost at will, the Bruins couldn’t do more than remain close behind for most of the contest.
Even down late in the second half however, the team remained calm and confident.
“I’m just really proud of our comeback, the way we fought back,” Howland said. “Being down both in the first half and the second half, the thing I’m most proud of is our team attitude, that they never ever stopped believing that they’re going to win the game.”
For UCLA, there was the added incentive to pull out the win for Lorenzo Mata-Real, the team’s only senior scholarship player. Mata-Real, playing in his final game in Pauley Pavilion, had two rebounds and two blocks in 11 minutes on the court.
With the regular season complete and March already underway, the Bruins will now turn their attention to the Pac-10 and NCAA Tournaments.
“It’s a new season now,” Howland said. “We had a great regular season, but now it’s a brand new season as we start next Thursday.”