UCLA Rallies to Beat USC on a Pooh Shot

Pooh Richardson, UCLA’s senior point guard, has developed a reputation as one of the coolest players in college basketball.

When the game is on the line, Richardson is at his best.

The USC-UCLA game was on the line Thursday night, and Richardson came through once again for the Bruins, hitting a jumper from the top of the key with 11 seconds remaining as UCLA defeated USC, 67-66, before 6,319 fans at the Sports Arena.

The play wasn’t designed for Richardson.

“The last play was designed for me,” said UCLA forward Don MacLean, who scored 15 points. “I was supposed to come off a pick down low and take the shot. But Pooh, being a senior, wanted to take the shot. He had a perfect shot and he nailed it.”

Richardson, wide open after he came around a screen by Kevin Walker, fired up an 18-foot jumper. The shot hit nothing but net.

“It was a great screen,” UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said. “They had been switching it all night, but they didn’t switch it that time, and he was wide open.

“He should have hit the shot. He didn’t play very well the whole game and that certainly isn’t like him to not perform.

Although Richardson was the hero, he didn’t play very well as the Bruins got off to a poor start and trailed at halftime, 41-31.

Richardson finished with 9 points, making just 4 of 10 shots, and 9 assists, but he gave away 6 turnovers.

Richardson, however, redeemed himself in the end.

“It was just a shot that I had to make,” Richardson said. “I’m not going to give those kinds of shots up. You take those.”

Although the Trojans had two timeouts remaining, they didn’t use one to set up a final play after Richardson’s shot.

USC guard Rich Grande raced the ball upcourt and fed Alan Pollard, who missed a desperation shot from the top of the key at the buzzer.

The Trojans seemed confused on the play.

Grande said they thought they could surprise the Bruins by not calling a timeout.

“As you look back, sure everyone says that we should have called time out,” Grande said. “But we wanted to catch them off guard. I’ve got to give them credit. They executed (at the end), and we didn’t.”

USC Coach George Raveling said: “We had a play set up but it wasn’t properly executed. We wanted to get the ball to (Anthony) Pendleton off the double screen, but we just didn’t execute it right. We had done a good job scoring off the option.”

Pollard said he probably should have tried to get closer to the basket before taking the last shot.

“When I caught the ball, I only had 5 seconds left and I didn’t see anything open,” Pollard said. “So I just put it up. I probably should have tried to take a few more dribbles before I shot, to get closer to the basket.”

“I thought we played a very good game. It just gets so frustrating to keep losing like this. I know we’re not as bad as people think we are. If we’re the worst team in the Pac-10, then it must be a hell of a league or a real bad one.”

After trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, UCLA stifled the Trojans in the second half, limiting them to 4 points in the first 9 minutes after halftime to get back in the game.

USC shot only 33% in the second half, UCLA 57%.

“Our defense did it for us,” Harrick said. “We were down digging and playing,” Harrick said. “I give them credit. We were probably fortunate to win. Maybe they (the Trojans) are the heartbreak kids.”

UCLA is 9-3 overall and 4-1 in the Pacific 10. USC, losing for the 6th time in 7 games, fell to 7-8 and 0-4.

It was a frustrating game for the Trojans, who have been unable to win close ones this season. USC has lost 5 games by 5 points or less.

Pendleton, who led the Trojans with 14 points, symbolized USC’s frustration. He collapsed to the court and banged his head on the floor after Pollard’s shot bounced harmlessly off the rim.

Trevor Wilson led UCLA with 17 points, and Walker added 14 as the Bruins won for the first time this season after trailing at halftime.

Calvin Banks, Chris Munk and Polland scored 10 points apiece for USC.

After trailing, 6-0, at the start, the Trojans took command with a 15-5 run to forge a 21-11 lead midway through the first half.

UCLA’s offense never got into sync as the Bruins missed easy inside shots and committed 10 turnovers. UCLA missed 17 of 30 shots in the first half, shooting 43.3%.

But things were different in the second half as the Bruins blitzed the Trojans, 17-2, in the first 7 1/2 minutes to pull ahead. MacLean keyed the spurt with 6 points.

The Trojans fought back with a 13-2 run to take a 58-54 lead. The game went back and forth before the Bruins took a 65-64 lead when MacLean hit a 17-footer with 2:26 remaining.

Grande and Chris Moore each made one free throw to give USC a 66-65 lead before UCLA called time out with 21 seconds left to set up Richardson’s game-winning shot.

After playing poorly in an 82-69 loss at Oregon State Sunday night, the Bruins played just well enough in the second half Thursday night to beat USC.