Buzzer Beaters: Zone games, Lazeric Jones carrying the load and a look at California

SAN JOSE “”mdash; After a 1-4 start, there were doubts about whether the UCLA men’s basketball could stay competitive against Division I teams and the season looked on the verge of slipping away from the Bruins.

Though they couldn’t pull out a win last night, the Bruins hung tough with a Stanford team that looks like it’s one of the best in the conference in the early stages. UCLA ran off five straight wins going into the game, but that was against weaker competition. Being able to compete with the Cardinal and taking them to the last possession has to be a relief.

In this inaugural edition of “Buzzer Beaters”, we bring you the notes and quotes from after the final buzzer that may or may not have been already discussed in the game story (which can be found here). In this edition, a look back at the Stanford loss and a look ahead at UCLA’s second Pac-12 game against California (Saturday at 1 p.m.).

—For the second straight game, it took the opposing team’s quick start for UCLA coach Ben Howland to switch to a zone. Howland isn’t a fan of the zone and the Bruins’ defensive strategy reflects his mentality, with UCLA always starting games in man-to-man. A little less than six minutes in, trailing 15-7, the Bruins switched and were able to get back in the game.

—Howland did his part by making sure he called out “Shooter!” His yelling could be heard from the upper reaches of Maples Pavilion early in the game whenever a Stanford long-distance marksman touched the ball. It’s much easier to shoot over the top of the zone than to go inside the paint, and Howland is doing everything he can to make sure his group accounts for all of the shooters on the court.

—UCLA held Stanford to just two-of-11 shooting from deep in the first half, but defensive rotations slowly deteriorated in the second half. The Cardinal shot seven-for-11 from three after halftime, and three straight triples that stretched its lead out to five forced a Howland timeout so he could switch UCLA back to man-to-man.

—That left UCLA with no timeouts to call late. Howland loves to double dip by using his timeouts immediately before scheduled media timeouts to gives his team an extended break. He paid the price Thursday, going the last five minutes without one.

—Howland on Friday had this to say about the timeouts: “We just used our timeouts to stay in the game and give ourselves a chance. Maybe if we would have saved them, we wouldn’t have been close at the end. There’s different ways to look at it.”

—Either way, the only player that had to have the ball in his hands late was Lazeric Jones. He was the only Bruin consistently hitting shots and in a variety of ways: numerous dribble drives, twisting layups, a stepback and four 3-pointers (he was the only Bruin to make a three all night). Jones insisted that he wasn’t forced to do too much, saying “If things aren’t going right then I try to step up.”

—Joshua Smith, whose 10 points were tied for second-best on the team after Zeek, tried his best to shoulder some of that scoring load. He kept UCLA from completely collapsing during the run of three straight Stanford threes by hitting two buckets of his own on the other end. Stanford immediately responded by going into a zone of its own and rendering Smith ineffective the rest of the game. He eventually fouled out after 20 minutes of playing time.

—The zone successfully neutralized another big guy: Stanford’s Josh Owens, who cruised to nine halftime points but failed to make a shot after the break.

—After viewing the tape, Howland said that he saw Tyler Lamb open on the final play, when Jones pulled up and had his shot blocked.

—UCLA scored just two fastbreak points, but that easily could have been in double figures if it wasn’t for sloppy transition play. Norman Powell and Jerime Anderson both squandered opportunities. Jones had a fearless attempt of his own on a fastbreak, though he made Stanford’s Andrew Zimmerman look like LeBron James by leaving the ball up for a chase-down block. But that’s alright with Howland. “If they get it (layups) blocked, they get it blocked,” Howland said. “I always try to tell the players, either score it, get it blocked or get fouled. But I think players are too worried about getting their shot blocked at times. It’s not a big deal.”

—Reeves Nelson‘s name won’t be heard around the team much longer, as UCLA seems to have moved past the expulsion of their one-time star. His dismissal had one consequence: It makes California’s Jorge Gutierrez the only returning All Pac-10 first-teamer from last season. Of the 10 players on the first team, six left school early and are in the NBA, one declared for the NBA draft but did not land with a team, one graduated and Nelson returned only to be told to leave.

—Gutierrez gave UCLA fits a year ago, scoring 34 points in Cal’s 76-72 overtime win at Haas Pavilion. Howland said that Lamb would guard Gutierrez in man-to-man defense.

—Gutierrez also doubles as the Bears’ top defender. Expect him to shadow Jones to open the game.

—UCLA and Cal (11-3, 1-0 Pac-12) have a history of very thrilling games.

—Ironically, UCLA unveiled a zone defense against Cal last season at Haas Pavilion. It would be the first and last time. The Bruins lost in overtime, and Howland vowed that UCLA wouldn’t play the zone the rest of the season.