Late free throws from Malcolm Lee help men’s basketball to victory
Junior guard Malcolm Lee brings the ball up during UCLA’s loss to Washington on Thursday in Seattle. The Bruins salvaged a split by beating Washington State in overtime on Saturday, and UCLA will open the Pac-10 Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
By Ryan Eshoff
March 7, 2011 4:36 a.m.
In a season full of tightrope walks and close calls, perhaps the conclusion was fitting.
UCLA survived a scare and escaped with a 58-54 overtime victory over host Washington State on Saturday in the regular season finale.
Sophomore forward Reeves Nelson scored 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field, and junior guard Malcolm Lee made six clutch free throws down the stretch to lead a late surge.
The Bruins (22-9, 13-5 Pac-10) overcame a miserable start and a 13-point halftime deficit to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Pac-10 Tournament, which will take place this weekend at Staples Center.
“I told them that “˜I want you to come out with passion and intensity like this game is going to either get us in or get us out of the NCAA Tournament,'” coach Ben Howland said. “In your heart, you just don’t know. I believe this one got us in, and that was huge.”
It didn’t come easy against the Cougars (19-11, 9-9), who were playing without Klay Thompson, who was suspended for the game after being caught with marijuana in his car on Thursday night.
At least in the early going, his absence didn’t seem to affect Washington State, which used precise offense, aggressive defense and poor UCLA execution to build a 32-19 advantage after the first 20 minutes.
Perhaps there was some letdown on the part of UCLA; perhaps there was some extra motivation on the part of Washington State, playing without its leader.
“Games like this are tough,” Howland said. “They banded together in adversity.”
The second half, though, was a different story. UCLA came out of the gates on a 24-7 run that allowed it to seize a four-point lead.
Things went back and forth the rest of the way, with Lee hitting a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to tie the game at 48 and send it to overtime.
“I put it on the shoulders of my team,” Howland said of his halftime comments. “They raised their intensity defensively.”
“Coach said in the locker room at halftime that we wanted to get the ball inside and play inside out, and we did a good job of executing it,” Nelson added.
The Bruins built a five-point lead in the extra session, only to see the Cougars come back and tie the game at 54.
But Lee hit four more free throws in the final minute to seal the deal and help UCLA salvage a road trip that began with a loss at Washington on Thursday night.
“I wanted the ball in that situation,” Lee said. “Coach just told me to be aggressive and attack the rim.”
The junior guard finished with 11 points but injured his knee late in the game and was scheduled to have an MRI on Sunday.
Two days after failing to make a field goal in the loss to Washington, sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman center Joshua Smith also had 10 points and was a matchup nightmare for the smaller Cougars, who were led by Brock Motum’s 15 points off the bench.
Lee’s free throws ensured that UCLA won its 18th consecutive game in Pullman, Wash. It also guaranteed the Bruins the second spot in the Pac-10 standings, although that became a moot point later in the day when Washington lost to USC.
UCLA’s next opponent will be the winner of the Oregon-Arizona State contest to be held on Wednesday night.
In a conference in which just four wins separate the third-place team from the eighth-place team, the tournament is bound to be closely contested.
UCLA should be used to that.
With reports from Bruin wire services.
