Bruins charge through defense

There was no need for a Jordan Farmar last-second heroic layup
this time.

No need to see UCLA gasping for a win after crawling from
behind.

Instead, Thursday’s game against conference bottom-feeder
Arizona State featured a circus-like performance where shoes were
coming off players’ feet and balls were slipping out of
players’ hands, resting on players’ backs, and winding
up in coaches’ hands.

Yet one thing remained the same: Farmar, the ring leader,
orchestrated the Bruins’ 69-60 win over the Sun Devils,
scoring 15 of his game-high 18 points in the first half.

“I felt like I was on. I wanted to be aggressive,”
said Farmar, who went 7-for-12 from the field. “I told my
guys during the huddle, “˜Let’s put this away and get
out of here and not have to give a chance for a miraculous
thing.'”Š”

The game wasn’t pretty, but the outcome is all that UCLA
coach Ben Howland cares about.

The game featured bumbled balls, fast breaks with no defenders
getting back on transition, and a monstrous 43 combined team fouls
in the game.

“I don’t care how much we win by,” Howland
said. “It’s about the W, and that’s the bottom
line.”

With the win, the No. 14 Bruins (18-4, 8-2 Pac-10) equal the
total number of wins they had all last season. Eight games remain
in the regular season as UCLA sits atop the conference
standings.

“We are happy, but not satisfied,” said UCLA
sophomore guard Arron Afflalo, who finished with 17 points.
“This team is capable of a lot more.”

Arizona State, on the other hand, is going in the opposite
direction, falling to 7-12 overall and 1-9, last place, in
conference play.

The Sun Devils clawed their way back, and heading into the
second half they trailed by just two at halftime, the score at
32-30. In the second half, Sun Devil guard Kevin Kruger sank an
off-balance 3-pointer, and the team got some timely offense from
relative unknowns, such as forward Bruno Claudino, who pivoted
several times before tossing up a six-foot hook shot to trim the
Bruins’ lead to 45-42 with 9:31 remaining.

Yet the Bruins withstood the run, then went on a 17-10 run over
the next five minutes.

The Bruins are slowly erasing their early-season habits of
letting teams back into the game and falling behind.

“All of that is mental,” UCLA senior guard Cedric
Bozeman said. “Every team we play is going to make a run. We
just have to stay together and withstand that run. That’s
what we did today.”

That’s what Farmar did.

He kept the Bruins afloat when the Sun Devils were trying to
make a run midway through the second half.

With 7:43 left, Farmar threaded between two Arizona State
defenders and found a wide-open Michael Roll, who sank a 3-pointer
to give UCLA a 50-44 lead.

Farmar took it hard to the hoop, where he got fouled, then made
the basket and the free throw with 7:05 remaining. UCLA led
53-46.

Last time the teams met at Arizona State, a right ankle injury
hampered Farmar.

After Thursday’s game, he said he was feeling the best
he’s felt all season, and that’s why at one point he
was asking for the ball.

“I was telling Luc (Richard Mbah a Moute) to give me the
ball with one minute remaining in the first half. I wanted a
2-for-1,” Farmar said. “I probably would have shot it
too if he gave it to me.”

Farmar could feel the difference between the Bruins now and four
weeks ago.

“The second time around, teams see a whole different team
and the way that I play. We’re harder to prepare for
now.”

A large reason for that is Bozeman, who didn’t play in the
Bruins’ first game against the Sun Devils.

On Thursday, he logged 27 quality minutes in his third game back
since his shoulder injury, scoring 10 points on 4-for-5
shooting.

More importantly, the senior’s 3-pointer from the left
baseline with 48.5 seconds remaining in the second half sent a mass
exodus from Pauley Pavilion as the Bruins led 65-56 and put the
game away.