Afflalo the Leader

With seven seconds to play Saturday night at San Diego State’s Cox Arena, Alabama guard Ronald Steele, standing in three-point territory just to the left of the circle, had the basket in his sight, the game within his reach, and UCLA’s Arron Afflalo in his face.

In other words, the Bruins, clinging to a two-point lead, had the Crimson Tide right where they wanted them in a second-round NCAA tournament game.

“I will take my chances with Arron Afflalo guarding the ball against anybody in the country at the top of the key with the game on the line,” UCLA Coach Ben Howland said.

Sure enough, Steele’s towering three-point attempt over Afflalo’s outstretched arms came up short. In the ensuing furious scramble for the rebound, UCLA’s Cedric Bozeman wound up with the ball, was fouled and made one free throw, giving the Bruins a 62-59 victory and a berth in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002.

UCLA (29-6) will face Gonzaga (29-3) Thursday in the Oakland Regional at the Oakland Coliseum.

Afflalo’s defensive diligence might have been for naught had he not come up with the key offensive play just 28 seconds earlier, drilling a three-pointer that boosted UCLA into a four-point lead.

Afflalo’s night mirrored that of his team. After getting off to an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes, the Bruins, in search of their ninth consecutive victory, found their path blocked by an Alabama zone made successful by its large front court, specifically 6-foot-10, 220-pound center Jermareo Davidson, 6-8, 265-pound forward Richard Hendrix and 6-9, 210-pound forward Evan Brock.

“It’s tough because they’re long and athletic,” UCLA point guard Jordan Farmar said. “You see an opening, you make a pass, and it’s open for that split second. But their length and athleticism closes the gaps really quickly.”

Struggling through the first half, UCLA was tied with Alabama, 30-30, after 20 minutes. Particularly alarming for a Bruin squad that had held its previous seven opponents under 60 points and had limited the opposition to 41.7% shooting, Alabama shot 61.1% in the first half.

And Afflalo, UCLA’s leading scorer this season? He was nowhere to be found in the scoring column in the first half, taking only two shots and missing both.

In the second half, the Bruins, easy winners over Belmont in the first round, began to find some holes in the tangled web that serves as Alabama’s zone. And Afflalo began to find the basket, scoring 13 points in the final 20 minutes.

Still, Alabama (18-13), a winner over Marquette in the first round, hung on. The Crimson Tide was helped by its ability to rebound, beating UCLA on the boards, 30-21, behind Hendrix’s game-high nine rebounds and eight by Brock.

And Alabama was helped by UCLA’s inability to shoot free throws, the Bruins making only five of 13 and missing six in a row at one point. Forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute struggled the most, making one of five. Alabama was 19 of 25 from the free-throw line.

With 6:18 to play and UCLA in front, 53-49, Farmar, who had a team-high 18 points, drove the lane, collided with Alabama’s big bodies and crashed to the floor, waiting for the foul call he was sure would come.

It did -- against him. Offensive foul.

Farmar thrashed around on the floor, partly in frustration and partly because he had banged both wrists. He finished the game and the initial diagnosis afterward was that he had nothing worse than a few bruises.

After Afflalo’s basket gave UCLA a four-point lead with 35 seconds remaining, Steele, the game’s high scorer with 21 points, was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to cut the lead to 60-59.

A free throw by Mbah a Moute extended the lead to 61-59 before Steele took his last-ditch shot.

“This is nothing new for UCLA,” Howland said of his team’s success in the tournament. “This is the expectation. The standard is set. We are supposed to win every game.”

The Bruins met expectations Saturday. But only by the length of Afflalo’s outstretched arm.