Xavier’s Best Shot Only Takes Out McCoy

After blocking two straight Xavier shots midway through the second half, while bumping for the ball, Jelani McCoy got Torraye Bragg’s elbow right in his chest, which did not lead to a happy feeling.

“I got a cheap shot--he hit me pretty good,” McCoy said. “It was hard to get a deep breath running. I tried to stretch it out, but it was bothering me, and I didn’t want to be a liability to the team, so I asked Lav [Coach Steve Lavin] to take me out.”

The blow bruised McCoy’s sternum, and he left the game staggering--but smiling. And McCoy said there was no chance he’d miss Thursday’s Midwest Regional semifinal against Iowa State.

“It won’t be a problem at all,” McCoy said.

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So, what’s the early scouting report on Iowa State?

One thing: The Cyclones, led by shot-blocker Kelvin Cato and shooter Dedric Willoughby, will definitely not pull what Xavier tried and attempt to outrun the running Bruins.

“They’re very smart, and they try to play a very deliberate tempo,” Lavin said of the Tim Floyd-coached Cyclones. “But we’ve faced that before, with Oregon and Oregon State.

“We’ve been executing our half-court offense really well lately--I think that’s been the key to turning around our season.”

Charles O’Bannon said he doesn’t worry a bit about slowing things down after two fast-paced games in the tournament so far.

“If it a team wants to go fast-tempo against us, we’ll take it,” O’Bannon said. “If a team wants to slow it down, we’ll take that, too. If Iowa State slows it down, we faced that for 18 games in league.”

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Bruin forward Kris Johnson got in some heated words with a few of the Xavier players in the first half, triggering a double-technical foul called on him and Xavier forward T.J. Johnson.

“They were trying to do the psych job on us and everything,” Kris Johnson said, “I guess they didn’t know that doesn’t work with us. We were in the same hotel as them last night [because of power outages in both teams’ hotels], and they were trying to intimidate us, staring at us in the elevators, saying little things.

“Then in the game, I got into it with the big fellas, talked some smack, and I think the technicals hurt them, because the referees calmed the stuff down, and they lost that edge they had.”

Late in the game, Johnson and an Xavier player exchanged words, drawing the attention of Bruin guard Cameron Dollar.

“I replied to what the Xavier guy was saying,” Johnson said. “Then Cameron shouted, ‘Shut up! We’re going to the Sweet 16!’ I thought, ‘Yeah, you’re right.’ ”

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Sophomore guard Brandon Loyd gave UCLA a lift with Toby Bailey in first-half foul trouble, playing 12 minutes in which had two assists and seven points--including a three-point basket. Overall, he tied a career-high with three rebounds in 15 minutes.