Punched Out In Ot Cougars Waste Late Lead

Even when trailing by nine points with just less than 4 minutes left, there was no outward signs of panic as UCLA’s young, and immensely talented, basketball team huddled around its coach Jim Harrick.

But there was definitely some inner resolve drifting among the defending national champions, who gutted up, scrambled back to force an overtime and then dusted off Washington State 78-73 to steer clear of an unlikely upset.

The Bruins (8-3) got a career-high 29 points from sophomore forward J.R. Henderson and several late clutch buckets from sophomore point guard Toby Bailey to successfully kick off the defense of their Pacific-10 Conference title in front of a sellout crowd of 11,897 at the Arena.

WSU (7-2), playing without senior forward Mark Hendrickson and backup point guard Kareem Jackson, displayed much more heart than depth or talent and used its perimeter quickness to put itself in position to win late.

But after UCLA made its late run and Bailey tied the game at 66 with a 3-pointer with just 15 seconds left in regulation, the Cougars came up empty on three close-in shots just before the buzzer.

Donminic Ellison, Isaac Fontaine and Shamon Antrum, who combined for 53 points, each had a chance to win it and any one of the three could have - maybe even should have - ended up at the foul line.

All whistles remained silent, however, and UCLA managed to distance itself in the final minute of the extra period by making its final four free throws.

Harrick liked the way his team clawed back from the brink, but was perplexed by its sluggish start.

“I was surprised at how passive we were in the first half, missing layups, turning the ball over and missing foul shots,” he said. “We got out of here with a win at a time when we didn’t play very well.”

“I thought (being) down nine with four-something to go was certainly a gut check for our basketball team. But we finally got some good looks at the basket and I thought Toby Bailey made some really big shots for us.”

Bruin forward Charles O’Bannon, who finished with 14 points, said there was never a point when he felt things slipping away.

“But at the point where we were down with 4 minutes to go, we pretty much had to dig in and give it one last run,” he admitted.

Bailey, who also scored 14 points, jump-started UCLA’s comeback with an NBA 3-pointer from the top of the key and then followed up two misses by his teammates with the big basket that forced the extra period.

“We really didn’t care if we went inside or outside, but after we missed the first couple (of shots), we wanted to get the 3,” Harrick said of his late-game strategy, plotted during another productive timeout.

“Anyone was going to take the 3 that got a good look.”

Few thought the Bruins would need such late-game heroics against a banged up Cougar team that was giving up nearly 4 inches to a man on the perimeter.

But WSU, despite making only two of its first 19 field-goal tries, refused to back down. They banged inside, exploited UCLA’s soft perimeter defense and beat the Bruins to nearly every loose ball.

By the time overtime became a necessity, however, Eastman’s tired troops were running on fumes. With Hendrickson sidelined indefinitely with a broken hand and Jackson unable to get back from Oakland after attending his grandmother’s funeral Thursday morning, the Cougars were thin starting out.

And they wasted away even further on the front line when senior forward Tavares Mack fouled out with 8 minutes left in regulation and sophomore Carlos Daniel, who started in place of Hendrickson, picked up his fifth foul early in the overtime.

At that point, Cameron Johnson, a little-used 6-foot-7 forward, was the tallest player coach Kevin Eastman had on the floor - and by 4 inches, yet.

Still, the Cougars hung around, thanks to the splendid play of Ellison, who played 44 minutes and scored 19 points, and Fontaine and Antrum, who each added 17.

“They played their usual game,” Harrick said of the Cougars. “Their three guys outside are terrific players. I thought Isaac and Donminic were very special today.

“They’re a team, that with Mark Hendrickson, could win the conference championship.”

Had the Cougars shot more than 30.1 percent (22 of 73) from the field or picked up a couple of friendly rolls off the Arena’s unforgiving rims, they might have owned a share of the Pac-10 lead this morning.

It should have been a moral victory, at least. But neither Eastman nor his players were buying into such talk.

“Every time you lose, there’s a piece of yourself that’s lost,” Ellison said. “That’s how we feel now.”

Eastman, refusing to use Hendrickson’s absence as an excuse, took the blame for his team’s late-game collapse and ultimate defeat.

“Why? Because we could not, as a staff, keep our kids in an attack mode,” he explained. “And that’s part of coaching. Our players played their hearts out, they just didn’t get good enough coaching in this game.”

Eastman did admit that the Cougars “got kicked inside.” And the numbers would support his premise.

Freshman center Jelani McCoy pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds and Henderson had his way on the low blocks most of the night, throwing down 11 of his 13 basket tries. The Cougars, whose leading rebounder was the 5-10 Antrum, The Bruins outrebounded WSU 48-35.

“Their two inside guys are too good for us right now,” Eastman said. “Quite frankly, way too good for us.”

The Cougars host Southern California in Pullman Saturday in a 2 p.m. for a Pac-10 showdown at Friel Court. Jackson should be available. Hendrickson will not play.

“Mark is going to be out awhile,” Eastman said. “It’s not about Washington State basketball, it’s about Mark taking as long as he needs to take to protect his future. It would be selfish for us to ask him to come back and play before he should.”

Daniel played some inspired minutes as Henderson’s backup but finished with only 7 points - 10 less than Hendrickson’s average.

UCLA 78, Washington St. 73, (OT)

UCLA (8-3) - Bailey 4-10 4-5 14, O’Bannon 5-11 3-5 14, McCoy 2-5 2-5 6, Henderson 11-13 7-8 29, Johnson 4-9 3-4 12, Dempsey 0-1 0-0 0, Dollar 0-1 3-5 3, Givens 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 22-32 78.

WASHINGTON ST. (7-2) - Ellison 6-16 6-6 19, Antrum 5-18 4-4 17, Fontaine 5-17 6-6 17, Daniel 2-5 3-4 7, Mack 3-8 1-2 7, Scott 1-4 2-4 4, Johnson 0-5 2-2 2, Coby 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-73 24-28 73.

Halftime-Washington St. 31, UCLA 26. End of regulation- UCLA 66, Washington St. 66. 3-Point goals-UCLA 4-12 (Bailey 2-7, Johnson 1-2, O’Bannon 1-3), Washington St. 5-20 (Antrum 3-8, Ellison 1-6, Fontaine 1-6). Fouled out-Daniel, Mack. Rebounds-UCLA 48 (McCoy 15), Washington St. 35 (Antrum 7). Assists-UCLA 10 (Dollar 5), Washington St. 7 (Ellison, Antrum, Johnson 2). Total fouls-UCLA 23, Washington St. 24. Technical- O’Bannon. A-11,897.

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