Shipp not dialed in from long distance

Over the last four games, UCLA has made seven of 44 three-point attempts. Junior Josh Shipp is 0 for 15 from long range and was stymied during the Bruins’ 56-46 win over USC on Sunday when the Trojans occasionally played a box-and-one defense on him.

Still, the sixth-ranked Bruins (22-3) are 10-2 in Pacific 10 Conference play and hold a half-game lead over Stanford though they rank ninth in the league -- ahead of only Oregon State -- in three-point shooting, having made 131 of 392, 33.4%.

The Bruins play host to the last-place Beavers (6-19, 0-13) on Thursday.

Shipp attributed his shooting slump in part to teams focusing their defenses more on him.

“A lot of teams are running at me a lot harder,” he said. “I need to play in the flow of the game, not force any shots.”

UCLA Coach Ben Howland agreed that Shipp is being guarded better. “People are really running at Josh,” he said. “[But] Josh did a lot of other good things to help us win and ultimately it’s about winning.”

Shipp, who is shooting about 37% from three-point range this season even after missing his last 15, said he is optimistic when he watches film.

“I’m taking good shots,” he said. “I’m missing them long or short, not left or right, so if I keep shooting the ball, eventually they will fall in.”

Freshman center Kevin Love, who made UCLA’s only two three-point baskets against USC, said sometimes practice doesn’t make perfect.

“People are shooting the ball so well in practice,” he said. “But long-range shooting is something we need to stretch defenses. If we want to get where we want to go in the postseason, we have to start hitting some of those.”

Howland said he was “encouraged” at how well junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute came out of the USC game. Mbah a Moute had missed two games and almost two weeks of practice after spraining his left ankle.

“He needs to practice the next couple of days and get his timing back, especially offensively,” Howland said. “But he looks good.”

Oregon State’s Marcel Jones, a senior from Santa Ana Mater Dei High, and Sean Carter, a freshman from Laurinburg Prep, N.C., reportedly confronted Washington players before practice last Friday at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis to engage in some trash talking.

According to Washington and Oregon media, Jones also left a voice message on the cellphone of Washington’s Joel Smith suggesting that the Washington team should meet the Beavers in the parking lot of the Washington team hotel.

That meeting never happened, but interim Oregon State Coach Kevin Mouton said Tuesday it was possible Jones and Carter could serve suspensions Thursday against UCLA.

“I haven’t made my decision yet,” Mouton said. “There will be actions taken on the behavior, which was not acceptable. I’m talking to our coaches and administrators. There will be a decision when I sit down and figure it out in my mind.”

Washington beat Oregon State, 97-59.

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diane.pucin@latimes.com