Winning, it seemed, had become a lost art at UCLA.
But Bruin coach Ben Howland, who vowed that he would not rest
until the restoration project was at least moving forward, can now
sleep a little easier following UCLA’s 80-75 win over
Washington.
He sported a wide smile and sighed in relief after the Bruins
rose from the dead to exorcise just about all of their demonic
qualities Saturday to snap their six-game losing streak and the
Huskies’ five-game winning streak.
“It’s good to get that monkey off our back,”
Howland said. “The guys were tired of losing. We kept talking
about (winning), and we finally did it.”
Most all of the afflictions hounding UCLA (10-9, 6-5 Pac-10)
were washed away in a 40-minute purification ritual that saw
splotches of the team’s lost luster return.
The Bruins actually got off to a good start. They actually
attacked the zone well. They actually played some defense.
And, finally, they rebounded. The Bruins won the rebounding edge
40-30, marking the first time they out-boarded a team since their
last win against Arizona State almost a month ago.
The re-emergence of UCLA’s past prowess on the glass was
due in part to Howland’s decision just a day earlier to give
little-used guards Ryan Walcott and Jon Crispin significant
minutes.
Their spirited play on both ends of the floor not only allowed
the Bruins to lead the game by as many as 13 points in the first
half and 35-28 at halftime, but also gave the rested starters the
energy they needed to devote time to the boards.
And all the rebounds led to UCLA pulling away on fast-break
opportunities that rendered the zone defense against them
ineffective. When Washington started to use a half-court trap,
which allowed them to come from behind and force overtime in the
teams’ last meeting on Jan. 10, the Bruins were able to break
out of it.
“When you get rebounds, you get opportunities to
run,” Howland said.
UCLA forward T.J. Cummings finished with team-highs of 18 points
and 11 rebounds after a 7-for-7 start from the field in the first
half.
“The losses got into me,” Cummings explained.
“I didn’t want to lose (anymore).
“I’m glad we got to the other side. We’re just
having fun. I’m glad we’re back to smiling.”
Trevor Ariza scored 12 points, including a one-handed dunk that
stalled the late Husky comeback, and had seven rebounds. Dijon
Thompson added 11 points.
Washington in general failed to take advantage of its quickness
in the backcourt, settling for wayward outside shots instead. Husky
guard Brandon Roy did score a career-high 30 points on 12-for-18
shooting to lead Washington (10-9, 5-6), which has now lost 18
straight games in Pauley Pavilion.
“Execution wasn’t the issue,” said Washington
coach Lorenzo Romar, a one-time UCLA assistant. “We
haven’t been playing with the energy and the fire we had for
the past two and a half weeks.”
Roy completed a three-point play, and he followed it up by
hitting two free throws with 38 seconds remaining to close the
deficit to 76-75.
But the Bruins, for now at least, appear to have cured their
calamities. Thompson, after getting fouled on the ensuing
possession, made his free throws. After Husky forward Mike Jensen
airballed a potentially game-tying 3-pointer, 53 percent free-throw
shooter Cedric Bozeman made two at the charity stripe with 18.8
seconds left to seal the win.
“We beat a team that’s the hottest team in our
league except for (undefeated) Stanford,” Howland said.
“It makes me feel good about our chances down the
road.”