It’s Deja Blue in UCLA Loss

The young Bruins aged a lot Thursday night.

As in: This is getting very old.

“Definitely,” guard Earl Watson said.

For the second time in 3 1/2 weeks, UCLA played Pacific 10 leader Stanford close into the final minute only to lose, this time falling, 77-73, before 7,391 at Maples Pavilion despite 23 points from Baron Davis and 20 points and 11 rebounds from JaRon Rush.

“It’s real frustrating,” Rush said after the ninth-ranked Bruins lost a 10-point first-half lead and their chance to stay in a second-place conference tie with Arizona. “You work so hard during the game and come up short. Come up short both times.”

The sixth-ranked Cardinal won despite making only one field goal the final six minutes and going the final 2 1/2 minutes without a basket, leaving it to win the game at the line and in the process sweep the series for the second year in a row.

Stanford made its final 12 free throws, a critical factor when the Bruins kept the pressure on with three-point shots.

Davis made one with 14 seconds remaining, cutting the deficit to 71-69. But Kris Weems, fouled by Davis a second later, converted both free throws, making it a double dagger for UCLA since it was also Davis’ fifth personal.

Then Rush, whose impressive numbers came in 26 minutes off the bench, made a three-point shot with two seconds left, forcing this game to the very end after the first meeting was halted with 0.7 remaining as Bruin fans threw debris on the court. But Arthur Lee ended whatever miracle hopes UCLA had by making two free throws for the 77-73 final.

It was the three-pointer that didn’t fall that cost the Bruins the most--Jerome Moiso, with only 13 previous attempts from behind the arc all season, hit the front of the rim with his try with 33 seconds to go. UCLA was forced to foul intentionally from there, and Lee made both attempts from the line with 19 seconds left that made for an insurmountable 71-66 advantage.

“They came in and played well,” Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said of the Bruins. “It wasn’t like they came in and made a bunch of foolish errors.

“You’re taking a good team’s, a real good team’s, best shot, and I think that’s encouraging for us.”

Given recent events and all.

The Cardinal had lost two of its previous four outings by the time UCLA arrived, just in time for the Bruins to open a four-game stretch that also includes a cross-town rival, USC, and a well-regarded cross-country opponent, Syracuse.

A year ago, Stanford was in an almost identical predicament--three losses in four games, to Arizona, Arizona State and Connecticut. Then the Cardinal defeated UCLA the next game, starting a streak of five consecutive victories and 11 of 12 that took it all the way to the Final Four.

“We thought Stanford was very vulnerable,” Rush said, which only added to the disappointment of the loss.

Countered Bruin Coach Steve Lavin beforehand: “They don’t seem too vulnerable to me. They seem pretty invincible. It’s more indicative of how tough it is to win in college basketball and really less a case of Stanford not playing well. They’ve lost to quality teams.

“It’s very similar to last year. They lost to Arizona at home and then they went back to UConn and lost, and everyone thought they were stumbling and falling apart and the reality was they were on their way to a Final Four and a 30-win season.”

Come tipoff, the other, more recent, history repeated itself.

Stanford fell behind early, and big.

Five days after trailing Connecticut by 18 points in the first half, the Cardinal again got down by a double-digit margin at home, this time 14-4 with nine minutes gone, another troubling sign for the team that came in averaging 72.5 points a game but didn’t break 60 in either of the two previous outings.

But Stanford--which got 17 points from Lee and 11 points and 12 rebounds from Mark Madsen--had all but recovered by halftime. Its deficit was only 26-24 by then, setting the stage for the finish that would offer stability in these parts and disappointment for UCLA.

Again.

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PAC-10 STANDINGS

TEAM: RECORD

Stanford: 10-1

Arizona: 9-3

UCLA: 8-4

Washington: 8-4

Arizona State: 5-7

Oregon State: 5-7

California: 4-7

Oregon: 4-8

USC: 3-9

Washington State: 3-9

Also:

CALIFORNIA, 58---USC, 55: With Spanich suspended for one game, Trojans’ tying three-point tries fail to fall in final seconds. Page 10

TOP 25: Duke rolls over Virginia for 19th consecutive victory and seventh game with 100 or more points. Page 10