DAM!

Forget seeing their shadows ““ the Bruins didn’t even
climb out of their hole on Saturday night, suffering another
embarrassing loss.

This time it was Oregon State winning 83-79, on the eve of
Groundhog Day, in front of a disgruntled Pauley Pavilion crowd of
7,698.

And now, UCLA’s winter might only last another five weeks,
as they currently sit at ninth place in the Pac-10. Only the top
eight in the Pac-10 make the conference tournament, which
represents the Bruins’ only chance of making the NCAA
tournament.

“It shouldn’t be like this,” said point guard
Ryan Walcott. “We should be blowing these teams out. These
games shouldn’t be close, and we shouldn’t be
losing.”

Just like in UCLA’s loss to Oregon on Thursday, forward
Dijon Thompson had the ball in his hands at crunch time and
couldn’t convert.

With 18.2 seconds left in the game and the Bruins down 80-77,
Thompson had an open lane to the basket but was called for
traveling. That turnover ended any hope of UCLA (4-13, 2-7 Pac-10)
pulling out a much-needed win.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Thompson said
after the game. “That’s my decision. I’m done
(talking to the media).”

The loss is UCLA’s eighth in a row, an abyss not seen by
the team since the 1940-1941 season. It is also the squad’s
eighth straight home loss, which hasn’t happened to the
Bruins since they lost their last eight home games in
1938-1939.

In fact, the last time UCLA won at Pauley Pavilion was Dec. 14,
2002, the day after fall quarter finals week ended.

“We just lost,” said forward Jason Kapono, who
finished with a team-high 18 points. “What is there to say?
It is a tough loss. It sucks to lose.”

UCLA was able to keep up with Oregon State (11-7, 4-5 Pac-10)
for most of the game. After 12 lead changes in the first half, the
Bruins went into the locker room up 43-41.

They quickly extended the lead to 48-41 with 18:37 left in the
game after a Cedric Bozeman free throw.

But then Oregon State’s Phillip Ricci, a 6-foot, 7-inch,
253-pound forward, took over in the paint and led the Beavers on a
17-2 run that gave his team the lead for good.

Ricci scored 11 of his game-high 26 points during that run, as
UCLA had no one to counter his size or strength.

Center Ryan Hollins only played nine minutes in the game due to
early foul trouble, and center Michael Fey and forward T.J.
Cummings couldn’t figure out ways to defend him.

“When Hollins got two quick fouls, that was a concern
because he had given us such a great inside presence,” said
UCLA head coach Steve Lavin.

The Bruins looked on the verge of letting the game slip away
several times, but kept climbing back.

They used a high-arcing three-pointer from guard Jon Crispin,
along with a pair of Kapono free throws, to pull within 62-59 with
8:36 left in the game.

Oregon State guard Jimmie Haywood countered by scoring eight of
his team’s next 10 points. In fact, all of his 14 points were
scored in the game’s final eight minutes. His hot hand put
the Beavers up by 12 with six minutes left.

UCLA refused to die, capitalizing on a dunk from guard Ray Young
and a Thompson three-pointer to pull within four in the
game’s final two minutes.

But a late three-pointer by Haywood and the Thompson traveling
call proved too much for the Bruins to overcome.

“To their credit, in every game except Arizona, they made
runs and fought back,” Lavin said of his players.

All season, the Bruins have consistently stayed within striking
distance of the lead in most of their games. But the team seems to
have trouble sustaining runs and putting opponents away when they
get the chance.

“Our lack of experience is really hurting us,” said
forward Andre Patterson.

Whether lack of experience or lack of talent, UCLA has put
itself in a position where a win ““ any win ““ would
go a long way to at least ensuring it plays beyond the regular
season finale against Washington on March 8.

Or else the Bruins would be doing their shadows a
disservice.