Keefe’s effort is a roaring success for UCLA

PHOENIX -- Their team in deep trouble, their March in deep stumble, a deep, strange cheer arose from the US Airways Center stands.

“Eeeeeeeee.”

What was it? It couldn’t be “Luuuc.” It didn’t sound like any part of “UCLA.”

It didn’t sound like anything that Bruins fans have ever chanted before.

Then, in a couple of dizzying, desperate minutes, it became perfectly clear.

“Keeeefe.”

Yeah, the chant was for him, the fresh-faced Orange County kid who picked the perfect time to become a Ben Howland Bruin.

The chant was for James Keefe. The night was for James Keefe.

As crazy as this might have sounded 24 hours ago, UCLA would not have beaten Western Kentucky in the regional semifinals without James Keefe.

The final score was Bruins 88, Hilltoppers 78, Keefe incredible.

That’s not my word, that’s his teammates’ words.

Said Lorenzo Mata-Real: “He was incredible, just incredible.”

Said Luc Richard Mbah a Moute: “He was so big, he was everywhere.”

He was exactly where UCLA needed him to be, in the middle of their biggest panic of the season, at the heart of a major tournament collapse.

In the center of their calm.

The sophomore who averaged two points this season scored 18.

The bench-warmer who averaged two rebounds grabbed a dozen.

And he did most of it in the second half, with the starters struggling in foul trouble and full-court press trouble and boneheaded trouble, with Howland pressing his hands on his forehead before finally pointing to Keefe on the bench.

“I was just sitting there, chilling,” Keefe said with a laugh.

Then he was on the court, scorching, leading the halting of a Hilltoppers barrage that reduced a 21-point lead to four points.

There were five minutes left in the game. The Bruins led just 63-59. And here’s some of what happened next.

Keefe hit two free throws. Keefe grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a Kevin Love layup. Keefe scored on a layup while being shoved.

By the time he had finished that last bit of acrobatics, the Bruins led by 12 and the game was over.

Said Mata-Real: “A breakout game for him.”

Said Keefe, smiling: “I don’t know, maybe a breakout game, definitely a fun game.”

He broke out with seven baskets in nine attempts, and just one missed free throw in five attempts.

In a second half marred with 12 Bruins turnovers, he broke out by committing zero turnovers.

Then, after the clock had finally stopped ticking, and Bruins hearts had stopped racing, James Keefe broke out the post-game waltz.

He jumped in the front of the players handshake line.

He nearly skipped across the floor to be interviewed on national television by the CBS guys.

When the fans began chanting “Keeefe” again, he actually waved to them.

“I was just in a zone tonight,” he said. “I was feeling it.”

While his performance consisted mostly of follow-up shots, well, somebody had to make up for Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison’s combined 17 misses in 21 attempts.

While he never shows the emotion of Love, he showed enough to grab seemingly every rebound that Love missed.

Could this be the night that he took his first step toward being the Kevin Love of next season?

Could this be the first night of the rest of his UCLA career?

“He’s always been like this in practice, but he never really had a chance to show it in the game,” said Mata-Real. “The kid can definitely play, he just needs his confidence.”

What impressed the Bruins more than anything was that Keefe played this well after beginning his postseason with an air-ball free throw in the Pac-10 tournament finale against Stanford.

“That’s the kind of thing that stays with some guys,” said Mata-Real. “But it didn’t stay with James.”

He hit two of three shots with seven rebounds in the NCAA tournament opener against Mississippi Valley State. He hit his only shot with one rebound, one block and one steal against Texas A&M.;

And now this, James Keefe acting like one of the few guys who understood how 21-point leads mean nothing in Sweet 16s.

“We all learned again tonight that, no matter what, in this tournament, you cannot lay down,” said Mbah a Moute. “We lost our focus and it really hurt us. That cannot happen again.”

If the Bruins are to beat athletic and smart Xavier Saturday in the regional finals, several things cannot happen again.

They have to stop being so reckless on defense, a wildness which led to serious foul trouble that could sink them.

They have to realize that Mbah a Moute’s ankle is still hurting him, which is hurting the team.

They have to stop trying to shoot their way out of slumps and realize that Kevin Love knows no slump.

And maybe, just maybe, they have to play James Keefe during more than just chaos time.

“We’re expecting more, James,” Howland said jokingly to Keefe afterward.

Then give it to him.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.