UCLA Roars Back to Win

Kids, they don’t quit.

Seniors, they will finish.

The UCLA Bruins shocked Washington, 95-86, Saturday night in front of a season-high crowd of 11,970 at rocking Pauley Pavilion after trailing by 21 in the first half. But UCLA’s four freshmen didn’t know they were supposed to be defeated. Two Bruins seniors wouldn’t let the freshmen learn that hard lesson.

The rookies didn’t know, when they let the No. 12-ranked team in the country romp to a 36-15 first-half lead, shoot 67.7% from the field in the first 20 minutes, leave tread marks on their backs, slam dunk cheerfully and make three-point baskets mouthily, that they were supposed to wilt and crumble.

Those youngsters -- point guard Jordan Farmar, shooting guard Arron Afflalo, forward Josh Shipp and backup center Lorenzo Mata -- each had brilliant stretches and singular plays. Farmar’s flurry of eight points in two minutes near the end of the first half helped keep UCLA close.

Mata, a raw and untamed talent who is still learning the finer points of basketball, swiftly followed a Farmar miss and tipped in the decisive basket with 25 seconds left. It gave the Bruins a five-point lead. It earned Mata praise from UCLA Coach Ben Howland, and Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar. “Great job,” both coaches said.

Afflalo scored UCLA’s first three points. Shipp had six rebounds and three assists to go with his 10 points.

But as the game wore into a grueling, furiously-paced finish, after UCLA had gotten things close, it was the Bruins’ only two seniors of importance -- Dijon Thompson and Brian Morrison -- who made nerveless plays and steadied the youngsters.

Thompson glided gracefully around the perimeter twice and made consecutive jumpers to give the Bruins a 79-77 lead. Maybe those were his biggest baskets, but he scored 29 points so it was hard to say for sure.

Morrison caught, aimed and shot from 22 feet away, all in one motion, all in the matter of a second to put the Bruins ahead 85-83 with 3:52 left, then stopped and shot again with 2:35 to go to put UCLA ahead for good, 87-85. Those were probably his biggest baskets, but he scored 19 points so maybe there were others that mattered as much.

“These guys never say die, they never quit,” Howland said. “But our two seniors were spectacular, especially in the second half.”

Thompson scored 19 in the second half. Morrison scored all 19 of his points in the second half when he was six for six from the field. “Dijon Thompson played like a senior,” Romar said, “he played like a future pro. He took the ball and made some big shots. And Brian Morrison, he played really well too.”

Washington (13-2, 3-1) was off to its best start in 29 years, but the Huskies had lost 18 in a row at Pauley Pavilion. That streak seemed ready to end when the Bruins were stunned early by the Huskies’ relentless quickness early pressure.

After Afflalo scored his three points, the Huskies reeled off a 23-2 run filled with fist-pumping drives and dives by guard Nate Robinson and precise long-range shooting by forward Mike Jensen and guard Tre Simmons.

And the Huskies, who had won nine in a row, were doing some talking.

“Their eyes got a little bigger than their stomachs,” Thompson said. He had heard Simmons howl in his face once.

But in the last 7:25 of the first half it was UCLA that gained its offensive rhythm and outscored Washington, 27-16. Though they trailed, 52-42, the Bruins ran off the floor slapping high-fives at halftime and even though Washington had shot 67.7% from the field by making 21 of 31 shots, the Bruins had gained confidence.

The Bruins scored the first two baskets of the second half -- one by center Michael Fey, who played limited minutes because he was just too slow, and one by forward Ryan Hollins, who is slowly working his way back into the rotation after seeming lost early in the season. A Thompson three-pointer tied the score at 72-72 with 8:41 left. A Morrison three gave UCLA its first lead since that 3-0 beginning.

“We have tough kids,” said Farmar, who finished with 13 points, seven assists, two steals and two turnovers in 34 minutes. “We showed a lot of heart and a lot of character. And we don’t believe it’s over until there are four zeros on the clock.”

At the end it was the nationally-ranked Huskies who were bedraggled and dragging. Romar called his team “fatigued.” Robinson, who finished with 21 points, muttered, “I guess they wanted it more.”

On this night they did.