Bruins Sweat Out a Clumsy Victory

UCLA’s hairy, scary and not-so-merry ride through this season continued Thursday night, with held breaths, hopelessly silly plays and a final 76 seconds that almost shocked the basketball world.

How far away were the 17th-ranked Bruins from blowing an 11-point lead to Oregon State, one of the least-talented Pacific 10 teams in recent memory?

Maybe an inch, maybe less.

As the buzzer sounded and the 5,873 in attendance at Gill Coliseum summoned as much hope as they could allow themselves, Rob Williams’ three-point shot arched high, kissed the inside of the rim, rolled toward the middle of the net, then suddenly flew back out, giving UCLA a 68-66 victory.

If the shot goes in--as three previous Williams last-minute bombs had--the Bruins end the Beavers’ 13-game losing streak, and suffer one of their most embarrassing regular-season defeats in years.

“I thought it was in,” Bruin guard Toby Bailey said.

The Bruins, 20-7 overall and 13-2 in conference, can clinch at worst a tie for the Pac-10 title Saturday at Oregon. But their fumbling performance amid the Beavers’ desperation was, by even their own admission, dazzlingly inept.

“We do things that aren’t Phi Beta Kappa,” said UCLA Coach Jim Harrick, who did not look as if he were savoring his becoming the third coach (joining Everett Case of North Carolina State and Louisville’s Denny Crum) in NCAA history to win 20 or more games in his first eight seasons.

“We are our own worst enemy,” Harrick said. “I think we lose concentration and focus.”

And his feeling as he sees his team repeat its mistake-prone ways shortly before the NCAA tournament--and against a woeful Oregon State team that fell to 3-22, 1-15?

“Not a good sign,” Harrick said. “I don’t like being up 11 and almost losing it.”

Whether it’s luck, clean living or something else, UCLA knows it’s running low on last-second escapes. “Hopefully we’re not using it all up,” Bailey said.

In that last 1:16, UCLA mangled its 64-53 lead with a vast array of misplays:

--Williams ran wide open on successive possessions, burying two three-point shots to bring it to 65-59 with 45.3 seconds left.

--The Bruins threw away an inbounds pass and a backcourt pass on the two possessions that followed, giving Oregon State more life.

--After two free throws by Charles O’Bannon, Williams found himself alone for another three-point shot to make it 67-64 with 15.5 seconds.

--Bruin guard Cameron Dollar nullified a Kris Johnson layup when he bumped Markee Brown, who was chasing Johnson, to the floor with eight seconds remaining. The foul also gave the Beavers a chance to shoot free throws without any time expiring.

“I was just trying to get Kris an open layup, and it didn’t work out as I had visualized,” Dollar said of his blocking foul.

--UCLA’s Kevin Dempsey committed a lane violation just as Brown missed his first free throw on the one-and-one situation, giving him the chance to make two, and bring it to 67-66.

Before the Bruins could inbound it, Bailey was fouled, and made one of two free throws--missing the second one when it appeared that Brown had clearly stepped into the lane early, and right in front of Bailey.

But there was no call, and as the Bruins looked to the referees, Williams spotted up one more time. And missed.

“The guy had a great look on the last shot--he had great looks on three straight shots at the end of the game--and you can’t do that,” Johnson said. “It probably was our ugliest win of the year, but we’ll take it. Sometimes we can look like a million dollars, sometimes we look like we’re not worth a dime. I hope when the tournament comes, we’ll play like a million. Hopefully.”

UCLA has survived big-mistake games before--the Bruins committed 18 more turnovers Thursday--by shooting well and turning up the defense in key situations.

Against Oregon State, the Bruins shot 52.4%, with O’Bannon (who started and played 27 minutes after a first-half benching for undisclosed disciplinary reasons against Duke) scoring 16 points, J.R. Henderson and Bailey with 14 apiece and Johnson with 13.

And they pulled away after a quiet first half by holding Oregon State scoreless for 8 1/2 minutes in the middle of the second half, giving them the 11-point lead.

That came after a strange first period--it was tied, 27-27, at halftime--in which UCLA was called for two technicals (one on Jelani McCoy and one on Johnson) and one intentional foul on McCoy.

“We do have to stop making mistakes,” said Bailey, who continued his shooting woes with a four-for-13 night. “I think if we don’t get the intentional fouls and the technicals, they’re not even in the game.”

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The Pacific 10

STANDINGS

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Conf. Overall Team W L W L UCLA 13 2 20 7 Arizona 11 4 22 5 Stanford 10 5 17 7 California 10 5 16 8 Washington 8 7 15 9 Oregon 8 8 15 12 Washington State 6 9 14 10 Arizona State 5 10 10 14 USC 4 11 11 16 Oregon State 1 15 3 22

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INSIDE

USC LOSES: Guard Stais Boseman and center Avondre Jones are benched for missing a team meeting and Trojans lose to Oregon, 80-60, at Eugene, Ore. C6

ARIZONA WINS: The No. 11 Wildcats kept their slim Pacific 10 championship hopes alive with a 72-62 victory over Washington State at Pullman, Wash. C6