Bruins’ night is slow and almost painful

A glance at the Pauley Pavilion scoreboard after the final whistle Tuesday showed that UCLA won, 75-61, but Bruins fans leaving Pauley Pavilion must have been scratching their heads wondering: How in the Sam Houston was the final margin so big?

For most of the game it wasn’t.

Sam Houston State, a mid-major team from Huntsville, Texas, caused mega-major problems for the nation’s top-ranked team with a deliberate, slow-down offense and an airtight defense.

The Bearkats (6-5) trailed by only five, 48-43, with just under 11 minutes to play and seemed intent on giving UCLA (10-0) all it could handle and perhaps catch the Bruins looking ahead to their Saturday showdown with Michigan.

But UCLA found some momentum as Josh Shipp scored six consecutive points to spark a 14-2 run that finally gave UCLA control in a game that, on paper, figured to be a cakewalk.

“We knew they’d be a hard team, the style of ball,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “It’s hard to play against. It’s a mental challenge to have to play defense for 25 and 30 seconds at a time. It was a game I was obviously worried about.”

Sam Houston State routinely let the shot clock wind down into single digits, but was ultimately done in by poor shooting. The Bearkats made only two field goals in an eight-minute stretch of the second half as UCLA extended its lead to 68-47 and allowed the restless Bruins faithful an opportunity to head for the exits knowing the game was finally in hand.

Point guard Darren Collison, who had 11 points and nine assists, said he was frustrated by the inability to force the up-tempo style his team prefers.

“It’s a lot frustrating,” he said. “But we understand we just have to stand our ground, maintain our composure and we’ll be all right. You’re going to have games like this.”

Howland anticipates that there will be several more. He mentioned West Virginia and Arizona State as teams that remain on UCLA’s schedule that will play a slow tempo.

That was a key reason why he scheduled Sam Houston State, he said.

“It’s not fun,” he said. “It’s like a root canal. We’re doing this to try to get ready. It’s a game we’re going to see again.”

For much of the first half and the first nine minutes of the second half, Sam Houston State held the lead or was within a basket or two.

The Bearkats had a 9-2 lead four minutes into the game, but went without a field goal for the next eight minutes. The Bruins took their first lead at 15-14 when Shipp, who had a game-high 18 points, penetrated and made a short jumper with 8:21 left in the first half.

That started a 10-4 run and UCLA, which made 12 of 13 first-half free throws, did not relinquish its lead the rest of the way. The Bruins, who entered the game shooting 59.8% from the free-throw line, made 17 of 21 (81%) Tuesday.

“That was a real positive,” Howland said. “If we didn’t make our foul shots, we would have been down or tied at halftime.”

Howland said he was relieved to escape this potential booby trap with Michigan coming up Saturday and then Pacific 10 Conference play beginning Dec. 28 against Washington State.

“I’m glad we got the win,” Howland said. “Now we’ve got 20 in a row that are all going to be very difficult.”

Arron Afflalo, who had 12 points, jammed the middle finger on his left (non-shooting) hand in the second half, and sat out after UCLA had control of the game, but he is not expected to miss any more time.

peter.yoon@latimes.com