Westbrook, Shipp need to provide punch

Russell Westbrook missed all five of his field-goal attempts against Texas A&M; in the first half Saturday and didn’t make a shot until he dropped in a layup with 8 minutes 41 seconds left in the second half, and still, UCLA won.

Josh Shipp didn’t convert any of his four field-goal attempts and never got to the free-throw line, and still, UCLA won.

The top-seeded Bruins had no offensive options beside Darren Collison and Kevin Love, were outscored badly in the paint and were hapless during a 17-2 run the Aggies began late in the first half and carried over into the second half, and still, they won.

They’ve consistently shown a flair for the dramatic the last few seasons.

This was almost a debacle.

“Lucky, good, the same thing,” Westbrook said, slumped on a bench in the Bruins’ locker room at the Honda Center after their 53-49 victory over the ninth-seeded Aggies.

“I feel good to get out of this and make it to the next weekend and give us another opportunity.”

The Bruins (33-3) very nearly didn’t get the chance to play in the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season.

“I thought we were in total control,” Texas A&M; Coach Mark Turgeon said. “I thought we were always one step ahead, whether it was the ball-screen action or doubling the post. But, no, we just didn’t make the plays in the second half.”

The Bruins weren’t making the plays in the first half.

Westbrook, Shipp and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who sat out the previous two games because of a sore ankle and was clearly rusty -- he missed his first three shots and traveled in the first few minutes -- shot a combined 0 for 11.

At the other end, the Aggies were muscling their way to a 26-6 edge in points in the paint in the first half

“It was a very physical game, one of the most physical we played in all year,” Westbrook said.

“I mean, it was a great team we played there. Very competitive.”

Shipp, who began postseason play shooting 45% from the field, has shot 35.1% (13 of 37) in the Pacific 10 Conference and NCAA tournaments. He missed both of his three-point attempts Saturday and is five for 21 from three-point range in his last five games.

“The ball just wouldn’t drop for me,” he said. “It was just one of those tough nights. . . . It was a rare night, but I did other things out there.”

Those “other things” included two assists and three rebounds, all off the defensive boards, but his most vital contribution was the block he made on what turned out to be the Aggies’ last possession.

Texas A&M; had taken a timeout with 9.5 seconds left, after Collison’s driving layup had given UCLA a 51-49 lead. Donald Sloan brought the ball up and ended up taking the shot into a crowd of Bruins.

No one was sure at first who had swatted it out of danger -- Love said he thought he had “the right timing” -- but it was knocked away by Shipp. The ball found its way into the hands of Westbrook, who inspired the heavily pro-UCLA crowd to new decibel levels with an emphatic slam dunk.

“It was just reaction,” Shipp said of the block. “I saw him driving. I was close enough to get my hand on it and I went for it.

“I hit the ball, but as long as we win, I don’t care who got the credit.”

Give him and his teammates credit for keeping enough energy and focus to rally from 10 points down in the first two minutes of the second half.

“We had our heads down at halftime, but we went in and regrouped and the crowd was able to motivate us a little bit,” Shipp said. “We were able to get that intensity going and get some stops and get the ball going our way.

“We just definitely didn’t want to go home. We didn’t want to end the season like this.”

Give even more credit to Love and Collison for keeping their heads -- and their scoring touch -- when those around them flailed.

But think of how much easier life might have been for the Bruins on Saturday if Westbrook hadn’t struggled for so long -- he finished with seven points -- and how much easier the whole journey could be for the Bruins if he and Shipp could once again be vital options on offense.

Shipp has thought of how far they can go if he and Westbrook are effective -- and how far short of their goal they might fall if they struggle again.

“It’s definitely going to be hard. When me and Russell get it going it makes the game a lot easier,” Shipp said.

“When we’re not going it makes the game tough so we definitely need to step that up.”

They’ve made it tough on themselves before and rallied. That’s as much their hallmark as their gritty defense. “We never give up. Everybody’s very competitive,” Westbrook said. “We always have fight in us.”

When they’re fighting themselves, though, they make everything that much more difficult.

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Helene Elliott can be reached at helene.elliott@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Elliott, go to latimes.com/elliott.