Arizona Fumbles the Ball, Bruins Fumble the Game : UCLA: Play goes awry, but Mills’ shot sends game into overtime. Wildcats then pull away, 105-94.

As the last few seconds of regulation ticked off the clock and the most critical play of the game unfolded Sunday at Pauley Pavilion, Arizona freshman Khalid Reeves failed to execute the play that had been outlined by Coach Lute Olson during the Wildcats’ last timeout.

UCLA played it just the way Coach Jim Harrick had ordered.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter.

“Fate played a big part,” Harrick said ruefully.

Instead of taking the ball the length of the court and driving for a layup, where Arizona’s big men would be positioned for a possible rebound, Reeves gave it up as he crossed midcourt, passing to a startled Sean Rooks.

“I was kind of surprised,” acknowledged Rooks, who was stationed to the right of the basket at the low post, and fumbled the ball away.

It wound up in the hands of teammate Chris Mills, whose baseline jumper barely beat the buzzer, sending the game into overtime and sending the Bruins and a sellout crowd of 12,823 into a state of shock.

UCLA never recovered, losing in the extra period, 105-94.

Mills’ shot seemed to exact a toll on the Bruins, who hung their heads as they took the court for the five-minute overtime.

“I thought maybe we lost a little momentum,” Harrick said. “It’s very, very, disappointing when (regulation) ends like that. I’ve seen that happen many, many times. You’re dejected, guys falling on the floor, and now you’ve got to pick yourself up and climb the mountain again.”

The Bruins couldn’t do it, losing for the eighth time in their last nine games against the fifth-ranked Wildcats.

UCLA fell to 17-6 overall and 5-5 in the Pacific 10 Conference, including a pair of heartbreaking losses to Arizona.

Last month at Tucson, the Bruins lost to Arizona (19-4, 8-3) when the Wildcats scored six points in the last four seconds, the most crucial on a short jump-hook by Rooks with four seconds left.

This time, UCLA rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, took the lead momentarily, lost it and then rallied again, going ahead, 85-84, on a driving dunk shot by Gerald Madkins with 27 seconds left.

Madkins had intercepted a pass from Arizona forward Brian Williams, who otherwise had the game of his life, scoring a career-high 32 points on 14-for-15 shooting and taking a game-high 14 rebounds.

“Thank goodness Brian had all those great plays because that one would go in the bonehead category,” Olson said.

After Madkins’ dunk, Arizona ran the same play that beat UCLA last month, but this time Rooks was forced to take a longer shot and he banked it too hard off the backboard, the rebound going to UCLA’s Mitchell Butler, who was fouled.

Six seconds remained.

Butler, a 45% foul shooter who had missed all 11 of his free throws in conference play, ended his drought by making the second of two shots, capping a 5-0 run by the Bruins and giving them an 86-84 lead.

Fate, though, was against the Bruins as Reeves brought the ball upcourt and, ignoring his coach’s instructions, passed off.

UCLA’s Don MacLean said he knocked the ball from Rooks.

Rooks said he fumbled it.

Said Mills: “I was right behind. He lost control of the ball and I put it up before the buzzer. I really wasn’t aware of the time, but when the ball was in the air, I saw the red light (go on), so I knew it was good.”

At that point, Mills figured that Arizona had the game won.

The Wildcats, though, led by only 96-94 until a three-point play by Mills, who was fouled as he scored on a driving bank shot, started a 9-0 run by Arizona in the last 45 seconds of overtime.

“They didn’t look as tough in overtime,” Mills said of the Bruins. “It seemed like that shot (by Mills at the end of regulation) gave them some kind of a downer. They seemed (dejected) and our guys were pumped up.”

Said Madkins: “It wasn’t like we were out of it, but it’s just devastating to have a game you had won go into overtime.”

A fourth-year junior, Madkins thought he’d seen it before.

“It kind of reminded me of Sean Elliott my freshman year,” Madkins said of the former Arizona All-American. “He did basically the same thing--got it on the baseline, hit a shot, sent the game into overtime.”

Arizona won that game, 78-76.

“It was deja vu,” Madkins said. “I hated it.”

Bruin Notes

Don MacLean led UCLA with 28 points and eight rebounds, but missed 13 of 20 shots and seemed frustrated by the defense of Brian Williams, at one point throwing the ball at Williams and drawing a technical foul with 4:46 left in regulation. . . . UCLA was outrebounded, 46-29. “Down there, we outrebounded them, but we really put an effort into it,” UCLA’s Gerald Madkins said. “Today, we were kind of lackadaisical.”

Down the stretch: Arizona will play five of its last seven conference games at home; UCLA will be home for four of eight. “It’s wonderful to be at home, but you still have to go out and win,” Arizona Coach Lute Olson said. “Those games aren’t gimmes. UCLA could have beaten us at home and USC had a shot down in that would have beaten us at home.”

The 105 points by Arizona is most ever scored by a visiting team at Pauley Pavilion. . . . Williams’ previous season high was 22 points. . . . UCLA, which made 42.1% of its shots, has shot worse only once this season. Last month against Arizona, the Bruins made a season-low 40.9% of their shots. . . . Arizona shot 56.9%.