SEATTLE ““ For UCLA’s Trevor Ariza, the timing was
perfect.
Coach Ben Howland had just finished laying into the guard play
when the forward who acts like a wing filed into the interview room
following the Bruins’ heart-stopping 86-84 overtime win over
Washington.
Feeling the need to spread around the blame as best he could,
Howland cupped his hand so that Ariza was sure to be within
earshot.
“Nine turnovers is too many turnovers,” he said,
only half-jokingly.
Howland did eventually have to toot the horn of his starting
small forward.
After all, Ariza finished with 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting to
go along with eight rebounds Saturday. The asthmatic who suffered a
collapsed lung less than two months ago played a career-high 38
minutes, willing UCLA to a win.
The bumbling Bruins were playing tired on the back end of their
first Pac-10 road trip of the season, so it was fitting that
youthful vitality won out in the end. Ariza, the lone true freshman
on the team, didn’t make his first field goal until the
four-minute mark in the first half, but single-handedly sent the
game into overtime.
With 38 seconds remaining in the second half, Ariza was fouled
on a dribble-drive, and in the face of an excruciatingly loud
Edmundson Pavilion crowd on its feet, he rattled in the second of
two free throws to tie the game at 75.
“It gave me a lot of confidence (just) making one,”
said Ariza, who went only 1-for-6 from the line Thursday against
Washington State. “My ears were ringing, and I couldn’t
hear anything.”
On the ensuing possession, Ariza stepped up to take a charge on
slashing Washington guard Brandon Roy with 6.1 seconds left.
Ariza missed a desperation runner at the buzzer, but then won
the game in overtime, scoring another five points in the extra
period.
Included in this spurt was a one-handed flying tomahawk dunk
over a Husky defender to give the Bruins an 84-81 lead that must
have confirmed to the Washington-area boy sitting in the front row
and sporting a customized Ariza jersey that he had gotten his
money’s worth.
“(Ariza) played great and made some big plays for
us,” Howland said. “We’re asking a freshman to do
a lot.”
Ariza even played a couple of crucial possessions at point guard
after starter Cedric Bozeman picked up two fouls in two seconds to
foul out with 6:01 left in the second half, and backup Ryan
Walcott’s face seemed to turn white as Washington began to
press.
That Ariza pressed a little too hard caused him to pile up nine
turnovers and draw Howland’s ire.
“I have to work on the turnovers,” Ariza said.
“They’re never good, especially on the road. Every
possession is big.”
But it was he who came up big while most of the other Bruins
looked either too timid or tired to keep Washington from whittling
down the 13-point lead Ariza’s 3-point play had given them
with 3:32 left. The only thing he was too tired to do was talk, as
he attempted to sneak out of the interview room before reporters
could speak with him.
His play on the court when it counted had already apparently
spoken for itself.