UCLA guard Brian Morrison ended his injury-plagued junior season
not with a pop but with a bang. He scored 23 points in the
Bruins’ season-ending 91-83 loss to Washington on Thursday in
the first round of the Pac-10 tournament. By being at his
healthiest coming off hamstring and ankle injuries that have
limited his play since Dec. 20, Morrison did what he does best
““ hitting the three-pointer. Morrison went 5-for-7 from
beyond the arc, and two of the shots keyed a second-half surge that
gave UCLA leads of 69-63 and 78-76. A third three-pointer cut the
Husky lead to 85-83 with 27.4 seconds left in the game, but
Morrison proceeded to pick up his fifth foul on Washington’s
ensuing possession. UCLA coach Ben Howland said he kept Morrison in
the game with four fouls at that point, hoping his athleticism
would allow him to come up with a steal, but Morrison ended up
fouling Tre Simmons. Morrison still was limited in his mobility on
defense, but Howland believed it to be notable. “We’ve
really missed Brian Morrison’s defense, his taking charges
and diving for loose balls,” Howland said. “His passion
is infectious. I love that.” Two of the 15 games the Redmond,
Wash., native Morrison missed were wins against Washington. Not
that the Huskies particularly care. “I’m not going to
say that I’m glad he didn’t play (then) because we won
the game he did play, and we lost the games he didn’t
play,” Washington guard Will Conroy said.
SURPRISE START: UCLA center Michael Fey learned
at practice just Wednesday that he would make his first appearance
in the starting lineup since Jan. 24 against Cal. After all, the
last two times the Bruins faced Washington marked the last two
double-digit scoring performances for Fey, an Olympia, Wash.
native, who scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. He ended up with
six points and three rebounds in 18 minutes Thursday night. Though
Fey began this season as the starter, Howland ultimately soured on
his unproductive performances at both ends of the floor and went
instead with fellow sophomore Ryan Hollins, who scored 10 points.
“I’m pretty disappointed with (my season),” Fey
said.
DRIBBLERS: Howland expects point guard Cedric
Bozeman to be a better outside shooting threat next season after he
takes 500 jump shots a day this offseason. Rehabilitation from
shoulder surgery forced the junior to miss workouts last offseason.
“¦ Washington guard Nate Robinson blocked a shot from UCLA
forward T.J. Cummings, who at 6 feet, 9 inches tall, stands exactly
one foot taller than Robinson. “¦ Seniors Jon Crispin and John
Hoffart ended their UCLA careers not having played in the
Bruins’ final three games. “¦ Hollins tied a career high
with three blocks.