Dempsey Flattens Stanford : UCLA: Freshman comes off the bench to give Bruins some outside shooting in 84-76 victory.

UCLA entered Thursday night’s game against Stanford as the Pacific 10 Conference’s worst three-point shooting team and finished with a freshman guard launching bombs from NBA distance.

A prescription for disaster?

Not on this night. Using the long arm of Kevin Dempsey, who made four of five three-point attempts, the Bruins were able to shake Stanford in the second half and come away with an 84-76 victory before a crowd of 8,767 at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA, 12-4 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-10, got inspired play off the bench from Dempsey, junior Rodney Zimmerman and freshman guard Marquis Burns.

But it was Dempsey who was the key in the second half, hurting Stanford (6-10, 1-2) with two long-range jumpers on consecutive trips down the court.

No doubt, Dempsey was feeling it. With the Bruins leading by 11, and the ball in the hands of their star, Ed O’Bannon, Dempsey clapped his hands from the perimeter and demanded the ball.

“Ed, Ed!” he shouted.

O’Bannon, posted up inside, flipped the ball back out to Dempsey, who made his fourth three-pointer with 6:26 remaining to give UCLA a 69-55 lead.

Dempsey got carried away minutes later, missing a three-pointer from somewhere near the concessions stands.

But the damage was done. Dempsey scored 14 points and gives UCLA Coach Jim Harrick something to smile about as his team forges into the heart of the Pac-10 schedule.

“I liked our bench tonight,” Harrick said. “Zimmerman, Dempsey, Burns. They gave us a great lift. It makes us quicker.”

Zimmerman started 15 games last year as a sophomore but was averaging 11 minutes and three points entering Thursday’s game.

Against Stanford, he scored eight points in 18 minutes and was a force inside, finishing with six rebounds and four blocked shots.

It may have been Zimmerman’s ticket out of the darkness.

“He did a nice job,” Harrick said. “He closed the middle when people penetrated. We had a talk this week and he wanted a shot. I almost started him in the second half.”

Burns, a freshman guard from Reseda, scored eight points and delivered one of the game’s most important sequences in crunch time.

Midway through the second half, Burns blocked what seemed an easy layup, igniting the crowd and leading to a transition jump shot by Tyus Edney to put UCLA ahead, 55-47.

For good measure, Burns made a three-point shot with 9:48 left to put the Bruins ahead, 60-49.

UCLA, which had made only 32% of its three-point attempts, made eight of 15 against the Cardinal.

The Cardinal took its first lead of the game, 44-41, with 15:15 left on a three-point shot by guard Marcus Lollie, but Zimmerman gave the Bruins the lead for good, 47-45, with two free throws.

O’Bannon had 19 points and Shon Tarver added 18. Dion Cross led Stanford with 18 points.