UCLA makes quick work of Washington despite loss of TJ Leaf to ankle injury

Staff Writer

March 1, 2017 10:35 PM PT

TJ Leaf signaled that he was probably down to stay when he slapped the court in anguish with his right hand only moments after falling along the baseline. His other hand grabbed his left ankle, the source of his discomfort.

UCLA Coach Steve Alford walked over and tenderly placed his hand on his star power forward’s chest before patting him. Leaf could only grimace.

The third-ranked Bruins were in need of consolation after their leading scorer sprained his ankle less than five minutes into an otherwise largely meaningless 98-66 victory over Washington on Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion.

Leaf had to be helped off the court by two assistant coaches as the freshman hobbled toward the locker room. He did not return and was scheduled to be reevaluated before UCLA’s final home game, Saturday against Washington State.

“He’ll be on crutches, boot, trying to get that thing rest and a lot of treatment,” Alford said, noting that doctors had ruled out broken bones. “It was just a sprained ankle so it’s not a bad one, but we’ll have to see what the next 48 hours look like.”

Leaf appeared to roll the ankle after leaping to block Washington forward Noah Dickerson’s shot with 15:22 left in the first half, crawling out of bounds underneath the basket as the Bruins commenced a fastbreak toward the other end of the court.

The Bruins could give Leaf as much as two weeks of rest if needed before opening the NCAA tournament, though an absence of any length would be crushing. Leaf entered the game averaging a team-high 16.8 points and was tied with Thomas Welsh for the team lead at 8.7 rebounds per game.

Should Leaf miss additional time, reserve forward Gyorgy Goloman probably would be tapped to fill the void. Goloman is strong defensively but somewhat limited on offense, averaging 3.5 points in 10.9 minutes a game before Wednesday. He had eight points and six rebounds in 26 minutes against the Huskies.

The Bruins also could use the four-guard lineup they had abandoned in recent weeks, though they could go to it for only short stretches because they have no other backups at the position who play regularly.

“With TJ out and TJ down, we’re going to have to play some four guards like we did in November and December,” Alford said.

UCLA (27-3 overall, 14-3 Pac-12) stretching its winning streak to eight games against an equally undermanned opponent seemed almost like an afterthought following Leaf’s departure.

The Huskies (9-20, 2-15) played without freshman phenom Markelle Fultz, who was sidelined by continuing discomfort in his right knee that has forced him to miss four of his team’s last six games. He may not return until he’s in the NBA, where he’s widely projected to be the top pick in the draft.

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UCLA guard Bryce Alford drives to the basket against Washington’s David Crisp during the first half.