Bruins Put On Floor Show for Wooden

The UCLA Bruins broke out some early 1960s vintage uniforms Saturday, in keeping with the theme of the afternoon.

Then they broke out a vintage basketball game, following a script written by the 1963-64 NCAA championship team, which was renowned for making the most from the least while giving John Wooden the first of his 10 titles in 12 seasons.

For one afternoon, anyway, the 2003-04 Bruins gave a performance worthy of so many who played before them, and so many of whom returned to Pauley Pavilion to celebrate the dedication of Nell and John Wooden Court.

Placing substance over style, the Bruins took a 64-58 victory from Michigan State that was short on highlight-reel plays, but long on floor burns before a pleased sellout crowd of 12,433.

“We won on toughness today,” said Coach Ben Howland, who challenged his players to be more determined after Wednesday’s loss to UC Santa Barbara.

The Bruins certainly didn’t win Saturday because of their 16-for-34 free-throw shooting (47.1%). They didn’t win because of flawless offensive execution either, failing to increase an eight-point lead to double-digits several times when it could have made for an easier crunch time.

“He motivated us to be more aggressive,” said T.J. Cummings, referring to Howland. “It’s a pride thing. With those old-school uniforms, with Bruins [written on the front], we wanted to make sure we came out and represented.”

Cummings, a senior forward making his first start after regaining his academic eligibility Wednesday, did his part for the second game in a row. One game after leading the Bruins with 14 points during their 61-60 loss to Santa Barbara, he had a team-high 13 points, including a critical jump shot from the corner that gave UCLA a 60-53 lead with less than three minutes to play.

But his most important contribution late in the game did not appear in the box score.

With the Bruins in the midst of a free-throw-shooting funk that threatened to short-circuit their momentum late in the game, Cummings jumped into the path of Michigan State’s Alan Anderson, who was starting to make his way out of the backcourt.

Dijon Thompson had just missed two free throws with the Bruins ahead by 62-58 with 10.9 seconds remaining. The Spartans took the second missed free throw and Anderson turned and began dribbling. As he did, Cummings blocked his path, forcing Anderson into a traveling violation with 8.1 seconds to play.

Thompson then made two free throws with 6.9 seconds left to seal the best of the Bruins’ four victories in six games this season. There was an audible sight of relief, mixed with the cheers from the fans, at the final buzzer.

Down the stretch, the Bruins kept missing free throws and kept their crowd guessing, but they made up for their shortcomings with a hard-headed game that had been lacking in Wednesday’s defeat.

The Bruins led by eight points several times in the second half, the last at 58-50 after Brian Morrison’s three-pointer with a little more than five minutes to play. They would get only Cummings’ jumper and four free throws (out of 10) the rest of the way.

“We never said die, we never gave up, we never quit,” Howland said.

He went on to praise the Bruins’ defensive pressure against the Spartans and his team’s more determined rebounding effort against a bigger and more physical team than the Gauchos.

UCLA limited Michigan State (4-5) to 20-for-57 shooting (35.1%) and outrebounded the Spartans, 36-33. Santa Barbara had outrebounded the Bruins, 25-20, on Wednesday.

“We won the game off hustling and rebounding,” Thompson said after scoring 10 points and taking four rebounds Saturday. “It’s rubbing off on us. [Howland] emphasizes rebounding and defense and it’s starting to show.”

Thompson grimaced when someone mentioned the loss to Santa Barbara.

“I was pretty upset about it, personally,” he said. “We should have won that game. They played Kansas next and we gave them momentum for that game.”

The Bruins had two difficult days of practice, but there was a surprise waiting for them when they returned to their locker room after their pregame warmup Saturday.

“My eyes were glowing when I saw those jerseys,” Thompson said of the vintage uniforms, which did not include the ‘60s style short-shorts, however. “I threw off my old jersey and put on the throwback one right away.”