UCLA Has Managed to Keep Its Balance

They are erratic and dramatic, kings of the hold-your-breath moment and most comfortable when the clock has almost run out, the game is up for grabs, and they can scramble their way to victory one more time.

The UCLA Bruins perform unevenly--until the final act. When the tension has risen, so, most of the time, have they.

“It’s a white-knuckle job,” UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said Friday, still shaking his head over Thursday’s 91-88 overtime victory against Washington when Cameron Dollar buried a 45-footer at the buzzer.

Nine times since Jan. 1, the Bruins have been tugged kicking and screaming into a decisive final minute, and seven times--including their last three games--they have won.

How does any team pull off such a consistent string of buzzer-beaters and last-minute flurries?

“I think what separates us from some other teams is that we have so many go-to guys, guys who want the ball at the end,” said guard Toby Bailey, perhaps UCLA’s premier big-moment player.

“Other teams, no matter how good they are, UMass, whatever, they don’t have that many go-to men at the end of the game. You could look down and know they’re going to go to Marcus Camby.

“Our team, they could run a play for me, they could run a play for J.R. [Henderson], they could run a play for Kris [Johnson], Charles [O’Bannon], and nobody would have a problem with it.”

The Bruins, who end their regular season today against Washington State at Pauley Pavilion, don’t deny that they have caught several crucial, lucky breaks, one of which might have included a slow start on the clock before Dollar’s shot Thursday. But as they head into the NCAA tournament--remember Missouri, Tyus Edney and 4.8 seconds?--the Bruins say they have confidence that they can find a way.

“In the tournament, the ability to pull it out is what you want, because that’s what the history of the NCAA tournament is all about,” assistant coach Steve Lavin said. “It’s always these fantastic finishes and teams that find ways to win.

“We do perform at our best when it’s toughest.”

A look at the last-action heroics:

--Jan. 4: UCLA over Washington State, 78-73, in overtime at Spokane. Two Bailey three-pointers, including a shot that tied the score with 15.7 seconds left in regulation, helped erase a late Cougar 11-point lead and sent the game into overtime.

--Jan. 6: UCLA over Washington, 78-70, at Seattle. Tied, 70-70, the Bruins scored the final eight points, starting with two free throws by Bailey with 52.4 seconds left.

--Jan. 27: Louisville over UCLA, 78-76, at Pauley Pavilion. A three-point basket by Cardinal forward Brian Kiser with four seconds to go erased a one-point UCLA lead, after the Bruins had rallied from a late eight-point deficit.

--Feb. 10: Stanford over UCLA, 67-66, at Palo Alto. The Bruins came back from a 64-57 deficit, narrowing it to one point with 46 seconds to play after Henderson converted a three-point play. But Stanford ran out the clock after getting an offensive rebound with 12 seconds to go.

--Feb. 15: UCLA over Arizona, 76-75, at Pauley. Tied, 75-75, with 25 seconds remaining, Arizona’s Miles Simon missed both free throws awarded when UCLA was called for six men on the floor. Johnson rebounded a missed layup, drew a controversial foul with one second left and made the game-winning free throw.

--Feb. 22: UCLA over USC, 61-59, at the Sports Arena. Tied, 59-59, with 10 seconds left, O’Bannon made a floating 10-foot shot at the buzzer.

--Feb. 29: UCLA over Oregon State, 68-66, at Corvallis, Ore. The Bruins almost blew their 11-point lead with 1:16 left, then prayed as Rob Williams, who made three other three-point shots in the last minute, barely missed one that would have won it at the buzzer.

--March 2: UCLA over Oregon, 77-71, at Eugene. Trailing by 13 with eight minutes left, the Bruins outscored the Ducks, 24-5, down the stretch, going ahead to stay, 73-71, on Bailey’s leaning jumper with 38 seconds left.

--March 7: UCLA over Washington, 91-88. Dollar did a 360-whirl around a Husky defender, then tossed in a bomb as time expired in overtime.