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Problem Found on the Inside

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Times Staff Writer

UCLA center Michael Fey had two points. One lonely basket. His back up, Ryan Hollins, had two baskets. That’s two seven-footers who could get the ball into the hoop three times.

While there were many reasons why UCLA lost, 79-72, to Oregon State in the Pacific 10 Conference quarterfinals, an absence of an inside game was an important one.

“Fey attempts three shots tonight,” Coach Ben Howland said. “We took 27 threes against a team that didn’t play zone defense a possession. We have got to get some inside shots.”

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This has been Howland’s lament after almost all of UCLA’s losses, that his inside players, especially Fey, want the ball in the post. But twice when the pass came to Fey, he fumbled it out of bounds. Hollins missed what would have been a spectacular slam dunk.

“I should have wanted the ball more,” Hollins said. “And we all just seemed a step slow.”

Howland also pointed to turnovers. When the Bruins beat Oregon State, 69-61, last week at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA had eight turnovers. This time the Bruins had 18. “I made some bad decisions,” said point guard Jordan Farmar. Said Howland: “That was very disappointing.”

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The Beavers ended a 12-game Pac-10 road losing streak. “We’ve definitely struggled on the road,” Oregon State forward David Lucas said. “We were really focused on getting a win, just getting that streak over with.” ... UCLA freshman Josh Shipp had no points and one rebound at halftime then finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds -- his second career double-double. “My coach [assistant coach Ernie Zeigler] pulled me aside and told me to be more aggressive,” said Shipp, who has been slowed by a sprained right ankle the last two weeks.

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