UCLA’s Overtime Win Nothing to Roar About

Of the few certainties that remain for UCLA’s basketball team, these two still hold true, although the second hangs by a mere thread:

Showing John Wooden’s image on the scoreboard at Pauley Pavilion will generate loud cheers, and the Bruins will defeat the Loyola Marymount Lions -- even if they have to go to overtime to do it.

Cedric Bozeman’s three-point shot with 2.8 seconds left in overtime, set up on a pass that was fumbled but saved by Trevor Ariza, spared UCLA the embarrassment of losing to yet another supposedly lesser opponent and was the difference in a nail-biting 69-66 Bruin victory Saturday before 7,240 at Pauley Pavilion. None of it was easy.

“We did a really poor job understanding how to protect a lead,” UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. “We’re very lucky, very fortunate to get the win.”

The score was tied at 60 at the end of regulation. After Bozeman missed two free throws, the Lions scored the first four points of overtime, on outside jump shots by Charles Brown and Wes Wardrop. Dijon Thompson made two free throws to cut the Lions’ lead to 64-62, but Bozeman couldn’t make a spinning layup after a Loyola miss.

However, Bozeman tied it at 64 with a bank shot, and UCLA regained possession after Brown traveled. After a time out, Thompson was fouled by Dustin Brown and made two free throws to give UCLA a 66-64 lead with 55 seconds left. Chris Ayer tied it with a fling that just dropped in, but the Bruins (3-1) prevailed on the strength of Bozeman’s three-point basket, the last of his 16 points.

“I had a chance to shoot a shot at the buzzer [at the end of regulation] and passed,” Bozeman said. “This time when I got it I just thought about taking the shot.

“It felt good when it left my hand and it went in.”

The victory was the 11th in a row for UCLA over Loyola Marymount (5-2). The teams hadn’t met since 1998, and the Lions’ last victory over UCLA was in 1941.

“I’m really proud of our team. We really struggled on the glass in the first half,” Loyola Coach Steve Aggers said. “We came out in the second with great intensity and I was very proud of our execution.”

The Lions stayed close for most of the first half but fell behind by 55-41 with 5:17 left in the second half. However, they kept chipping away until Charles Brown tied the score at 60 with 30.4 seconds remaining with a three-point basket from the left side.

“That little number one, Brown, is something else,” Howland said of the junior guard, who had a game-high 17 points. “He hurt us.”

The Bruins had a chance to win when Damian Martin inbounded the ball with 2.4 seconds to play but couldn’t get a downcourt lob through a thicket of Bruins. Bozeman got the ball to Ryan Hollins, but his jam came after the buzzer.

The Bruins’ scare was reminiscent of their losses at home last season to San Diego, Northern Arizona and Pepperdine. They thought they had control of the game in the second half and went to the ends of their bench, a rare enough occasion, but the Lions chipped away until they ran out of time.

Ariza, whose debut had been delayed by a collapsed lung, scored 14 points in 32 minutes. Ariza, from Westchester High, was supposed to play limited minutes but came in off the bench 3:30 into the first half and played too well to come out.

“In the first half I felt good,” he said, “and in the second half I felt good until about three minutes left.”

Sophomore center Michael Fey got a finger in his left eye during a scramble for an offensive rebound with 1:19 remaining in the first half. He was shaken up and was taken to UCLA Medical Center for evaluation. He had six points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.

Howland also said he’s “almost certain” T.J. Cummings will be academically eligible for Wednesday’s game against UC Santa Barbara after getting a satisfactory grade on one of two exams he had to pass.

The Bruins led, 31-23, at halftime, the fewest points by a UCLA opponent in a half. It was far from scintillating: neither team made a field goal until Fey slammed home a pass from Ariza with 14:16 left in the half; the Lions made their first basket with 13:54 left, a 12-foot shot by Jason Dickens.

The Lions kept it close in the first half with 32.1% shooting, not much to brag about but better than the Bruins’ 24.1%. They trimmed the Bruins’ lead to 19-17 on a 17-foot jump shot by Charles Brown from the corner off an inbounds play with 6:47 left in the half, but the Bruins scored the next five points and went on a 10-1 run.

The Bruins outrebounded the Lions, 35-11, in the first half. That compensated for the Bruins’ 12 turnovers, five by Thompson.

Howland, who had used only seven players against Kentucky in the previous game, was able to go deep into his bench against the Lions.