Thompson Can’t Get Take-Out Service

Dijon Thompson played 43 minutes Thursday against Washington State and 38 minutes Saturday against Washington, including all 20 in the first half. There were times against the Huskies when Thompson was bent over and tugging at his shorts while he searched for his breath.

“I’d like to take him out more,” UCLA Coach Ben Howland said, “but look what happens when he’s on the bench.”

When Howland did give Thompson a quick rest in the second half Saturday, UCLA went from five points down to 10 behind.

“Nah, I wasn’t tired,” Thompson said. “The times I got the ball I pretty much made things happen.”

Freshman Arron Afflalo said, “We’re definitely asking a lot of Dijon offensively and defensively. But that’s the coach’s decision.”

Thompson said he wasn’t asked to do too much. “I’d be happy if they ran a play for me every time,” he said.

And Howland suggested nothing was going to change this season either.

“He’s our senior,” Howland said. “We’re going to give Dijon every opportunity to give us a win.”

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Afflalo said Washington’s constant pressure, especially on the ballhandlers, was mentally and physically taxing.

“The full-court pressuring, they force you to be impatient, they force you to think about things, they force you to put the ball on the floor,” Afflalo said. “They get you thinking about the five-second call all the time.”

Afflalo was called once for a five-second violation when Will Conroy was guarding him.

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Josh Shipp was aggressively looking for the ball Saturday and appears to be finding his comfort spots offensively. Shipp had a career-high 20 points, but Howland said that Farmar, UCLA’s the second-leading scorer this season, is still the second-best offensive option after Thompson.

“Based on the season stats,” Howland said, “Jordan is.”

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This was Washington’s 20th consecutive home-game victory and school-record 14th straight Pacific 10 Conference win.

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UP NEXT FOR UCLA

Thursday vs. Arizona State, 7:30 p.m., Pauley Pavilion -- The Bruins played a tough double-team defense against Ike Diogu, the Pac-10’s leading scorer, and came away with a win on Jan. 13 in Tempe, Ariz. The Sun Devils are a game behind third-place UCLA and Stanford in the conference standings, and at least one of those three might find itself the odd team out on NCAA tournament selection day.