Dollar’s shot right on the money

Dollar’s shot right on the money

Point guard sinks buzzer beater to defeat Huskies

By Scott Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Staff

Cameron Dollar entered Thursday night’s basketball game against
Washington having made just four of his 21 three-point attempts
this season.

So who would have expected the UCLA point guard, known more for
his defense and assists than for offensive production, to take an
inbounds pass with three seconds left in overtime, spin around at
halfcourt and drain a 45-foot shot as the buzzer sounded?

Certainly not Dollar.

"I haven’t had a lot of luck shooting those shots," Dollar said.
"Even on that one, I just threw it up toward the basket. It wasn’t
like, ‘Okay, let’s make this.’ I just spun around, threw it up and
it happened to go in."

It also happened to give No. 17 UCLA a 91-88 nailbiting victory
over the Huskies (15-11 overall, 8-9 Pac-10), and outright
possession of its second consecutive Pacific 10 Conference
Championship.

In fact, with second-place Arizona losing at home to Stanford
Thursday night, the Bruins’ victory over UW was a moot point in the
race for the conference title. Now, a win over Washington State in
Saturday’s regular-season finale (2:30 p.m., Pauley Pavilion) will
leave UCLA (22-7, 15-2) at least three games ahead of Arizona in
the final league standings.

But Dollar’s shot was a rather fitting clincher for the Bruins,
who have struggled to wins over conference doormats USC and Oregon
State in recent weeks. At USC, they escaped with a victory when
junior Charles O’Bannon hit a jumper at the buzzer, and at Oregon
State, they blew a nine-point lead in the final minute, then
squeaked out when a Beaver three-point shot rimmed out as time
expired.

Thursday, playing without leading scorer J.R. Henderson (out
with strep throat), UCLA nearly blew it again in the final
minute.

The Bruins had stretched their lead to 10 points when Kris
Johnson scored two of his team-high 30 points on a reverse layin
with six minutes to go.

Four minutes later, the lead was still at eight after Toby
Bailey (22 points, six rebounds) pulled up on the fast break and
nailed a 22-foot three-pointer from the right side.

But Bailey goaltended a shot by Washington center Todd
MacCulloch, and when the Bruins came up empty on their ensuing
possession, Jason Hamilton knocked down a 22-footer for the
Huskies, closing the gap to 81-78.

Dollar made one of two free throws to push the lead back to four
with 41 seconds left, and it appeared that the Bruins had secured
their third straight victory.

Instead, Hamilton grabbed a loose ball at the other end of the
court and was fouled by Bailey as he connected on another three
pointer, this one coming with 18 seconds left. Hamilton converted
the rare four-point play, and the game was tied at 82.

UCLA still had 18 seconds with which to work, but Dollar, who
finished with four points, nine assists and three steals, was
called for a travelling violation with four seconds remaining.

Husky guard Bryant Boston missed a 24-footer as time expired,
and the game went into overtime, where the Bruins nearly broke down
again.

After Boston opened the extra period with an 18-foot jumper,
UCLA put together a 6-0 scoring run and led, 88-84, with 1:44 to
go. A pair of Jamie Booker free throws cut the lead to two, and
then the Bruins were called for a shot clock violation with 12
seconds left.

Boston capitalized with a 12-foot pullup jumper that, as it
turned out, only set up Dollar’s heroics.

"For 18 games, you have to step up and play and get results, and
we did that without our best player (Henderson)," UCLA head coach
Jim Harrick said. "All season, we have just found a way to
win."

ANDREW SCHOLER/Daily Bruin

With :02 on the clock, Cameron Dollar made a 45-foot shot to
lead the Bruins to a 91-88 win.

NCAA tournament student ticket info1. UCLA students who applied
or purchased a student season sports package for the 1995-96 season
are eligible to apply for one ticket for each weekend on the NCAA
men’s basketball tournament in which UCLA participates.

2. Applications may be obtained at the Central Ticket Office
beginning at 9 a.m. on the Monday of each week of the tournament.
Applications must be returned to the CTO no later then 5 p.m. the
same day in order to be eligible for the purchase of a ticket.

3. Tickets must be picked up at the site of the tournament by
the student purchasing the ticket.Photo I.D. is required for
pick-up.

4. Additional Information will be available at the CTO on Monday
of each week.

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