Bruins Able to Ward Off Demons

OK, so UCLA didn’t make its best pitch Saturday to top-25 voters. So the Bruins let DePaul whittle their second-half lead from 23 to five. So they got a little sloppy down the stretch.

So what?

“It was just one of those games where you just want to end it,” said forward Jason Kapono, who matched his career high with 28 points in a 94-88 victory at Allstate Arena. “Somehow, some way, you just want the game to end so you can come back in the locker room, change, shower and fly out of here.”

For the Bruins (15-6), the clock moved so slowly it almost ticked in reverse. Their last basket was Kapono’s three-pointer with 5:45 to play, and their final 17 points came at the foul line.

Meanwhile, DePaul (11-12) made things interesting for a crowd of 12,236 and a national TV audience by turning a laugher into an actual game in the last 10 minutes. Twice in the final 22 seconds, the Blue Demons cut the deficit to five. That had the Bruins gasping, especially since point guard Earl Watson had fouled out and center Dan Gadzuric had to be helped off the court because of an ankle injury.

“DePaul picked a great spot to make their run,” Watson said. “We played two highly emotional games in less than 48 hours [USC and DePaul], and then the Stanford game took a lot out of us too.”

The fatigue showed. The unranked Bruins committed 13 of their 21 turnovers in the second half and, at times, were as lackluster as they were 10 days earlier in a 29-point blowout loss at California.

Ray Young, coming off a marvelous performance against USC, fouled out without scoring for the third time this season. His final three fouls came during a 45-second span in the final 1:37, when the Bruins were clinging to a single-digit lead. The player he was guarding, Imari Sawyer, was on his way to a 12-for-13 performance at the foul line.

In short, no one on the visiting bench was breathing easy.

UCLA Coach Steve Lavin was asked if the victory over DePaul should earn his team a spot in the top 25, where it hasn’t been since a Nov. 21 loss to Cal State Northridge.

Said Lavin: “If I watched the last six minutes of this game and I was a voter, I’d ship us to the NIT, or Siberia, or somewhere else.”

Maybe so, but the Bruins are headed home to Pauley Pavilion, where Thursday they host Arizona in a pivotal Pacific 10 Conference game. Lavin & Co. are crossing their fingers that Gadzuric will be ready to go--”His left ankle looks like a softball,” the coach said--and that Kapono maintains his scorching pace.

Saturday, Kapono was essentially unstoppable. He made eight of 13 shots, five of six from three-point range--regardless of whether someone was in his face--and led all rebounders with 11. That came on the heels of a 20-point effort against USC.

“He’s as prolific a scorer as there is in college basketball,” Lavin said. “He kind of reminds me, in terms of touch and feel, of Chris Mullin. He’s not as strong as Mullin was, but that type of feathery touch, fingertip release. Tonight, he was just in one of those zones, and our team did a good job of finding him.”

When Kapono wasn’t knocking down threes, Billy Knight was. He buried four shots from behind the arc and scored 18 points, just shy of Earl Watson’s 20.

UCLA freshman T.J. Cummings scored 10 points in a game that was especially meaningful to him. His father, Terry, is a former DePaul star who went on to have an illustrious NBA career.

Terry Cummings was honored before the game and gave his son a bearhug before walking off the court and taking his seat. The younger Cummings, who was razzed by DePaul students calling him a traitor for signing with the Bruins, started the game. Teammate Matt Barnes had volunteered his starting spot and surrendered the spotlight to the freshman.

“I thought that was a kind, selfless, sweet gesture,” Lavin said. “It says a lot about the fabric of this team.”

The night before the game, the entire team ate dinner at the Cummings’ home in suburban Chicago. Joining them were players from T.J. Cummings’ alma mater, Flossmoor High, which is across the street from his parents’ home.

After the game, Cummings stepped out of the warmth of the arena and into the bitter-cold night air, where about 20 friends and family members were waiting for him. He even signed a few autographs.

“I’m loving it here,” he said. “I’m taking it all in. This is my hometown. I love Chicago.”

The rest of the Bruins were already aboard the team bus, their four-game road stretch behind them. The lights of Los Angeles could not come soon enough.

*

STANFORD A WINNER

Stanford struggles before defeating Oregon State, 82-63. D8

*

ROAD WIN FOR WAVES

Pepperdine has won 11 of its last 12 games after defeating Santa Clara, 85-74. D6

*

TAR HEELS ON A ROLL

Top-ranked North Carolina beats Maryland, 96-82, for 18th win in row. D7

*

TROJANS GAIN SPLIT

USC women turn tables on UCLA by winning, 61-56, at Sports Arena. D8