Arizona Defeats UCLA With Three-Point Plan

Flinging basketballs as if with slingshots from far and wide, Arizona took down the UCLA Goliath from long range here Saturday.

The 10-game Bruin winning streak . . . the recent run of strong defensive performances . . . the hope of running away with the Pacific 10 Conference before anybody else even had a chance . . . a six-point second-half lead . . .

All that vanished in a devastating torrent of Wildcat three-point theatrics, a steady stream of swishes that lifted Arizona to a crucial 88-79 victory before 14,638 at the McKale Center.

“I felt like my baskets were useless,” said UCLA forward J.R. Henderson, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half. “They were hitting threes every time I’d get a two.

“It was unbelievable. I’d be underneath, waiting for rebounds that never came.”

In all, the Wildcats made an astounding 13 of their 20 long-range shots--Mater Dei High product Miles Simon had a career-high 28 points on six-of-nine three-point shooting, and reserve Michael Dickerson was four for four, all in the second half.

In the second half alone, with No. 13-ranked UCLA a little more susceptible on defense with freshman center Jelani McCoy in foul trouble, No. 18 Arizona made eight of 12 long-distance shots, wiping out most of the hope the Bruins had of scrambling back into the game.

“Threes are going to burst your bubble,” Simon said. “You’re down two, somebody comes off a baseline screen, drops a three, suddenly it’s a two-possession game. Threes can hurt you a lot.”

Said UCLA forward Kris Johnson of the Wildcats’ three-point shooting: “They kept hitting three after three, and that took away our spirit a little bit. We’d be getting through two or three screens, get a hand up, and they’d still be busting threes. Those were heartbreakers.”

Before Saturday, UCLA had held its opponents to 29.3% shooting from behind the line, and no team had shot 50% or better from the field all season. And coming into the game, Dickerson had made only five three-point baskets on 31 attempts.

But Arizona, 13-3 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-10, shot 51.9% to get the badly needed victory over the Bruins (12-4, 5-1) and remain in the thick of the Pac-10 race. And the Wildcats got it without academically ineligible center Joseph Blair.

“Yeah, everybody hyped up UCLA,” Arizona forward Corey Williams said. “They won the national championship, but all the talent in the world doesn’t make up for heart.”

At different times, Simon was guarded by Charles O’Bannon, Toby Bailey and Cameron Dollar, and made three-point baskets against each of them, including his last, a 26-footer in Dollar’s face at the end of Arizona’s best run.

“I don’t know what [UCLA Coach Jim] Harrick’s game plan was for me,” Simon said. “They were switching three guys on me. But I guess they didn’t find an answer.”

The Wildcats took advantage of the hot shooting by creating a handful of huge turnovers during a decisive 20-8 run that staked them to a 75-69 lead with 5:52 left.

“I hate losing,” said guard Toby Bailey, who made four of his seven three-point shots for 18 points. “But we just have to get over it.

“We knew we weren’t going to go undefeated in league. That’s pretty hard to do, not just physically but mentally, to get up for every game, to get the right calls and hit all the big baskets game in and game out.”

UCLA, which last lost Dec. 4 at Kansas and plays host to USC on Wednesday night, is tied with California for first place in the Pac-10. The Bruins said that they were not crushed by the loss, that they played hard and were beaten by a blistering bunch of shooters.

O’Bannon, coming off a 16-minute benching after drawing a technical foul for taunting Thursday against Arizona State, scored 17 points, and coyly covered his mouth with his hand after throwing down a huge dunk amid the entire Wildcat front line.

And the Bruins still could have pulled it out if not for a couple of missed free throws by Henderson that could have given them a bigger cushion before the big Wildcat push, a few late turnovers by Johnson and Bailey, and a traveling call on Bailey with just over three minutes left which enraged Harrick.

“We turned the ball over in key, key situations,” Harrick said. “But that’s been the [modus operandi] for this team all year long, and we’ve gotten by. But we can’t get by with it in real big games.”

Said guard Cameron Dollar: “When you play in a place like this, there’s very little margin for error. And I think the margin of error caught up with us today. It’s not like we’re distraught or anything, they just made everything down the stretch.

“I feel we’re still in the driver’s seat. We’ll always be in the driver’s seat. People tend to overemphasize one loss, as if we’re crumbling. But we’re not going anywhere.”

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Bruin Notes

J.R. Henderson, who injured his left wrist when he fell on it in the last minute of the game, was wearing a wrap after the game. Although the wrist wasn’t broken, he said it hurt.

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The Pac-10

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School Pac-10 W Pac-10 L Overall W Overall L UCLA 5 1 12 4 California 5 1 10 4 Stanford 4 2 10 4 Arizona 3 2 13 3 USC 3 3 10 7 Washington 2 2 9 4 Oregon 2 3 9 7 Washington State 1 3 8 4 Oregon State 1 4 3 11 Arizona State 0 5 5 8

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