Thompson Steps Up to Carry UCLA Again

It was his game, his ball, his moment.

Twice.

UCLA senior Dijon Thompson grabbed his young teammates, carried them into overtime, then hit the game-winner too in a 58-56 victory over Washington State on Thursday night at Friel Court.

Thompson made a three-pointer from the wing at the buzzer to tie the score at 49-49 in regulation, then knocked down a 16-foot jump shot with 40.8 seconds left in overtime for the winning points.

The win pulled UCLA, which improved to 12-6 overall and 6-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference, into a tie with Stanford for third place. Washington State (9-10, 4-6) is tied for sixth with California.

And this was a win that was achieved with heart, soul and a cramping body for Thompson, who finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and one blocked shot in 43 minutes of total intensity.

After the Bruins had taken a six-point lead on a Jordan Farmar three-pointer with 3:07 to play, but let it slip away, Thompson saved them with his nerveless buzzer-beater.

Washington State had scored nine straight points -- seven of them by Thomas Kelati who had been offensively stifled by Arron Afflalo until that flurry -- and led 49-46 after two Kelati free throws with six seconds left. The Bruins had desperately fouled Kelati after Thompson had a baseline jump shot blocked by Robbie Cowgill a second earlier. “He got part of my hand,” Thompson said, “but what can you do?”

What the Bruins did was hurry up. Farmar dashed up court. Ryan Hollins, who played 36 minutes and gave his best effort of the year, set a resounding screen. Farmar, who was planning to take the shot, instead got double-teamed.

“Out of the corner of my eye,” Farmar said, “I saw Dijon fly by. Ryan set a great screen and Dijon was asking for the ball. I passed it to him and then I was praying it went in.”

There wasn’t a twitch in Thompson’s fingers, not a blink of hesitation. He caught and shot. His right wrist cocked and his fingers curled in a perfect follow through. The ball barely rippled the net.

“We left their best shooter wide open,” Kelati said.

“We made the mistake of leaving Thompson alone,” Washington State Coach Dick Bennett said. “We were double teaming the ball because we weren’t organized and that was my mistake.”

Thompson was hunched over at the waist 10 minutes after the game. “Cramping,” he said. But smiling too.

“I am so glad we got the win in Pullman my last time here,” Thompson said. “I hope I never have to come back.”

Farmar said that all during the game Thompson was jabbering at him, asking the freshman point guard to give him the ball. “Dijon wanted it so much,” Farmar said. “He kept asking me to call the plays he liked.”

The game was played at Washington State’s pace, the Bruins forced to play grinding defense for 25, 30, 34 seconds on every Cougar possession.

But the squeak of Bruin sneakers on the court played a happy tune for UCLA Coach Ben Howland. It meant his players were moving their feet and finding their man to guard.

“Outstanding,” was the way Howland described the way the Bruins forced the Cougars four times into tossing up off-balance, desperate, junky shots in unsuccessful attempts to beat the 35-second shot clock.

“It’s hard,” Thompson said. “You have to keep playing defense over and over. That gets tiring and frustrating.”

Yet Thompson never let his frustration take over. On offense Thompson measured his shots, seldom taking anything out of his rhythm. He was eight for 11 from the field and made seven of his eight free throws while his teammates made only seven of 15.

While Howland praised Hollins (eight points, eight rebounds) and freshman forward Josh Shipp and his eight rebounds and while Farmar (12 points, seven assists, two turnovers) was wise in his decisions and mostly smart with the ball, it was Thompson’s night.

“I can’t say enough about Dijon,” Howland said. “He’s really, really a heck of a player. What else can you say?”

No more was necessary Thursday.