Cummings Calm in Storm

T.J. Cummings hates to rush. That’s why the UCLA freshman showed up in the lobby of the team hotel Thursday in his game uniform.

Four hours before tipoff.

“My teammates kind of laughed at me a couple of times, but it’s just something I have to do to get ready,” Cummings said. “They can’t really be laughing with the outcome. When I’m calm, I’m cool.”

For proof, rewind the tape from the second half of UCLA’s 91-83 victory over Arizona State at Wells Fargo Arena. Check out the way Cummings made a hook shot when the Sun Devils cut the lead to a point, then nailed another a minute later.

Look at him hitting a jump shot with his feet just inside the three-point arc. See him take a charge with 1:06 to play, bleeding the momentum out of Arizona State’s last-gasp run.

“Nothing he does surprises us,” UCLA Coach Steve Lavin said of Cummings, who started in place of injured center Dan Gadzuric and finished with 18 points before fouling out with 32 seconds to play. “He has supreme confidence, and the team has great confidence in him.”

The Bruins, playing only their second road game in six weeks, notched their sixth consecutive victory to improve to 10-4 and 4-0 in Pacific 10 Conference play. Arizona State, which beat UCLA by 29 here last season, dropped to 8-8 and 0-4.

“We certainly played harder and better than we did in the last two games,” said Arizona State Coach Rob Evans, whose team absorbed an overtime loss at Washington and a 21-point pounding at Washington State. “I thought we played pretty well against the press for the most part.”

Although the Sun Devils trailed by as many as 16 points late in the first half, they mounted a run early in the second to cut the deficit to 48-47. That’s when Cummings made four consecutive shots, giving his team some breathing room.

“I felt comfortable the whole game,” he said. “I wanted to try to amp myself up even more because I was just so at ease during the game.”

Cummings wasn’t the only UCLA understudy to step out from the shadows and perform under pressure. Point guard Ryan Bailey had one turnover in 23 minutes, coming through in a big way after starter Earl Watson suffered a bruised hip and lower back when he took a fall on a drive to the basket.

That happened four minutes into the second half. After spending a couple of minutes on the ground surrounded by trainers, Watson got to his feet and hobbled off the floor. Later, he tried to reenter the game, but limped back to the bench after a couple of possessions. He said he hopes to be ready for Saturday’s game at Arizona, but made no guarantees.

“I’m not a real big person on taking medication,” Watson said. “I never really take it at all, not even when I’m in pain or anything. But tonight I’m taking some. And hopefully that medication will work a miracle.”

Another ailing Bruin is forward Matt Barnes, who emerged from the rough-and-tumble game with a sprained right foot. He said he will be ready to play against the Wildcats, although he was last seen strapping a protective boot to his foot and lumbering toward the team bus. Gadzuric, after suffering back spasms in his last game, played 21 minutes.

Of the veteran leaders, only Jason Kapono is unscathed. And he looked plenty smooth against the Sun Devils, scoring 25 points and knocking down a trio of three-pointers. He also made all of his eight foul shots.

It was accurate shooting from the free-throw line, in fact, that allowed the Bruins to pull away for good. They made 11 of 12 in the final 1:15--three by Billy Knight, and two each by Cummings, Barnes, Kapono and Bailey.

“That’s a big improvement from last year,” Kapono said. “We used to be horrible from the line.”

The game was extremely physical, especially in the first half when Barnes and Arizona State’s Awvee Storey banged bodies and wielded their elbows in creative ways.

“He was definitely the most physical guy we’ve played all year,” Barnes said.

At the end of the first half, Storey also got the better of the matchup. He knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer to trim UCLA’s lead to 46-35. Then, the Sun Devils scored the first eight points of the second half to claw their way back into the game.