Big Cummings-Out Party Ends in Loss

UCLA point guard Earl Watson gave his team a C-minus for its uneven season-opening performance in a 99-98 loss to Kansas on Thursday in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. That was probably fair, given the Bruins’ poor early shooting and weak second-half rebounding.

But the debut of freshman forward T.J. Cummings clearly merited a high enough grade to provide the Bruins a considerable amount of consolation.

Cummings came off the bench to play 29 minutes and score a team-high 24 points, the most by a Bruin freshman in a debut game, and infuse energy into a sluggish team that was nearly run out of the game in the early minutes by the fastbreaking Jayhawks. The 17th-ranked Bruins missed eight of their first 10 shots from the field and twice trailed the seventh-ranked Jayhawks by 16 points in the first half, but Cummings helped rally their shooting and their spirits.

“He has to be one of the best freshmen in the country, if not the best,” Watson said of Cummings, the son of former DePaul and NBA standout Terry Cummings. “He was unbelievable.”

Boosted by 13 three-point field goals--one short of the school record set last season--the Bruins pulled even at 87 with 3:56 to play in the slower-moving second half. They had a chance to take their first lead with 23.3 seconds left, when Eric Chenowith fouled Matt Barnes with Kansas leading, 93-92, and in the bonus situation. Barnes missed both free throws, however, and the Jayhawks made their last six free throws down the stretch to keep the Bruins at bay.

UCLA will play Kentucky in today’s consolation game. The Wildcats were upset by unranked St. John’s, 62-61, in Thursday’s second game.

“There’s plenty of impetus for us to be able to bounce back in a hurry,” Bruin Coach Steve Lavin said. “Obviously, no one wants to go home 0-2, but some good team is going to come out of this 0-2.”

Kansas set a blistering pace in the first half that the Bruins’ transition defense couldn’t handle. The Jayhawks slowed noticeably in the second half, but their 24-14 rebounding edge in the half helped them create enough second-chance points to prevail. The Jayhawks totaled 41 rebounds to 29 for the Bruins, whose top rebounder was Jason Kapono with eight.

“We’ve got to be better than that at the defensive end of the floor,” Kansas Coach Roy Williams said. “We feel very fortunate to do what we did tonight.”

Forward Kenny Gregory led Kansas with 24 points, as all five Jayhawk starters hit double figures. The only Bruin starters to score in double figures were Kapono (22) and Watson (21).

“They’re a top 10 team in the country. This shows we’re right up there with them,” said Watson, whose buzzer-beating three-point shot ensured he would have his sixth game with at least 20 points. “It shows our potential. We haven’t played our best basketball.”

Cummings had looked like a nervous and fallible freshman at times in practices and exhibition play, and he acknowledged being awed by his first trip to Madison Square Garden. “I came to the shoot-around and almost lost my breath,” he said. “So many things have happened here.”

But a phone call to his father two hours before the game helped him regain his poise and purpose.

“First we prayed,” Cummings said. “And then he told me, ‘When you come into the game, make sure you let the game come to you. Once you start feeling the flow, be confident in what you do.’

“I just wanted to come in and hustle my butt off. I want to be the hardest-working player of all. I’m not happy with the loss.”

That may have been the best news Lavin heard all night.

“From the first day T.J. Cummings stepped on the floor at Pauley Pavilion for practice he has brought a great work ethic and a great attitude,” Lavin said. “He’s extremely coachable, loves to compete, loves the game and comes from a great basketball family, so he understands the game.

“I couldn’t be more pleased for him. What I told him after the game is the key is to do it day after day and not be a one-day wonder or a one-game wonder. With his work ethic and attitude and approach I think he has a great career ahead of him.”

Lavin retained similar optimism about his team, although he knows much work remains.

“This is a valuable experience as far as having a measuring stick or report card to find out where your team is,” he said. “I think we found out some things about ourselves tonight. This is a group that by the end of the season could be playing some pretty good basketball.”

TODAY’S GAME

UCLA vs. Kentucky

3:30, ESPN2

THANKS, KEVIN

Controversy with Dodgers’ Malone ranks low on Lavin’s list of crises. D12

STORM FRONT

St. John’s beats Kentucky, 62-61, on late three-point play by Glover. D12