Controversy Obscures Poor Performances

Lost in the heated emotions that came with Sunday’s loss was the general poor play of UCLA in both games in Washington, with even Coach Steve Lavin saying that his Bruins were outworked in each.

They escaped with a 69-66 win Thursday at Washington State, but only after wasting a 17-point first-half lead against the only team in the Pacific 10 Conference with a losing record overall.

Three days later in Seattle, the Bruins saved their most inspired play until the final 3 1/2 minutes, after Lavin had been ejected, Baron Davis had fouled out and the Huskies had a 12-point lead.

“I thought they out-competed us,” Lavin said of Washington. “They beat us to the punch on the boards. They beat us to the punch in transition down the floor.”

Those were similar comments to the ones Lavin made after the Washington State game and about the lack of work ethic the Bruins showed in practice before heading to the Pacific Northwest, meaning lack of intensity has developed into a pattern.

The most emotion the Bruins showed Sunday was after their coach’s ejection.

Lavin, after appearing to head off the court, quickly rejoined the huddle by the bench before departing.

Several players became fired up as Lavin addressed the players.

“I think a lot of guys on our team had a big adrenaline rush right there,” said forward Sean Farnham, one of the Bruins’ emotional leaders. “Basketball is a game of energy, and we didn’t have enough before that. For the last three minutes, we were competing like we should have been all 20 minutes of the second half.”

Coming up: Thursday vs. Oregon, Sunday vs. Oregon State.