Inconsistency plagues No. 17 UCLA

Inconsistency plagues No. 17 UCLA

Bruins nearly blow 11-point lead in final minute against
Beavers

By Scott Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Staff

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Before the college basketball season even
began, Jim Harrick knew that the immaturity of this season’s UCLA
squad would present one of the toughest challenges he’s ever faced
as a head coach.

But Harrick, winding down his eighth season at the UCLA helm,
didn’t realize that the problem would take so long to solve.

With only three games left in the regular season, the
17th-ranked Bruins are still struggling through long periods of
inconsistency and Thursday night, it almost cost them dearly.

They did escape with a 68-66 victory over Oregon State in front
of 5,873 at Gil Coliseum, but only after a three-point attempt by
Beaver guard Rob Williams caromed off the rim as time expired.

"We are our own worst enemy," Harrick said. "We go for a while,
and then we just lose concentration and focus. This late in the
season is not a good thing – I don’t like it."

Harrick may not like it, but he can’t seem to stop it. Just last
Sunday, the Bruins (20-7 overall, 13-3 Pacific 10) crumbled down
the stretch in an 85-66 loss at Duke. Several Bruins claimed that
the loss to the Blue Devils would be the last straw, that there
would be no more mental lapses.

But against Oregon State (3-22, 1-15), UCLA fell off the wagon
again. And if the debacle in North Carolina did little to help the
Bruins hope for a high seed in the rapidly approaching NCAA
Tournament, then a loss to the Beavers would have been
devastating.

Oregon State entered the game with a 13-game losing streak, and
with only one league victory, sat alone in last place in the
Pac-10. Only one of its players averaged in double figures in
scoring, and as a team, the Beavers ranked at the bottom of the
conference in most statistical categories.

Simply put, UCLA had absolutely no business having any trouble
with Oregon State.

And when Toby Bailey scored in traffic with 1:16 remaining,
pushing the Bruin lead to 64-53, it appeared that UCLA took care of
the business at hand.

Instead, they suffered another lapse, and Oregon State
capitalized with a furious run that left them down by just one
point with eight seconds left.

Williams started the run for the Beavers, draining a pair of
three-pointers to cut the UCLA lead to six.

Then, following William’s second trey, UCLA guard Kris Johnson
threw the inbound pass to Oregon State’s Markee Brown, who was
fouled by Johnson on his way to the basket.

Johnson’s turnover was only the first of five critical errors by
the Bruins in the final 45 seconds. After Brown hit his second free
throw, the Beavers went to the press and forced another turnover,
this time by Charles O’Bannon.

Brown missed a jumper on the ensuing possession, and O’Bannon
hit a pair of free throws after being fouled at the other end of
the court.

But Williams answered with his third three-point basket of the
night, and UCLA, clinging to a three-point lead, was left with an
opportunity to make yet another gaffe.

Johnson took off toward the offensive end after Williams’ trey
had an uncontested layup. His basket was nullified, however, when
Cameron Dollar was called for a moving screen against a trailing
Brown.

It was UCLA’s seventh team foul, giving Brown a one-and-one
opportunity. He missed the first, but a Kevin Dempsey granted him
another chance when he stepped into the lane too early. Brown
canned both ends of the one-and-one to close the gap to 67-66.

O’Bannon was fouled before the ball was even inbounded, and with
eight seconds left, he hit the first of two free throws to put the
Bruins up by two and set up Williams’ final attempt.

It was probably a fitting end to a game which saw UCLA go up by
nine points midway through the first half, only to have the Beavers
claw their way back and enter the locker room tied at 27.

"Most of it was us, we just lost our concentration," O’Bannon
said. "Oregon State played well, they crawled back and had a chance
to win it. We’re just happy to come away with the victory."

O’Bannon had 16 points and six rebounds to pace UCLA, which shot
52.4 percent from the field and outrebounded Oregon State, 34-22.
The Beavers, who shot 46.2 percent, were led by J.D. Vetter’s 15
points.

* * *

Now, UCLA heads to Eugene, where it will face Oregon in a
nationally televised 2:30 p.m. showdown at McArthur Court. Should
the Bruins emerge victorious over the Ducks, they will assure
themselves at least a share of their second consecutive Pac-10
title.

But McArthur Court has not been a friendly venue for UCLA. Last
season, the Bruins entered their conference opener in Eugene ranked
No. 2 in the country, only to be handed an 82-72 upset by an
upstart Oregon squad. It was their second consecutive defeat in
Oregon, making Dempsey the lone member of this year’s club to enjoy
a win in the 10,063-seat arena.

"It’s time to put an end to that," O’Bannon said. "I’ve won
everywhere else in the Pac-10, and it’s time to go over there and
get a victory."

FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Junior forward Charles O’Bannon sank one free throw in the
closing seconds to help the Bruins escape with a 68-66 win against
Pac-10 cellar-dweller Oregon State.

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