Another Heartbreaker For Cougs Ucla Hits Buzzer-Beater To Stop WSU

UCLA senior Kris Johnson waited and waited and waited, dribbling almost casually as the final seconds ticked away, sizing up Will Hutchens as if it didn’t matter what the Washington State guard might do.

Cha-ching.

Johnson’s 25-footer ripped through the net with three-tenths of a second remaining, lifting the 18th-ranked Bruins to a 78-75 victory Thursday night at Friel Court.

The outcome was all too familiar for WSU and its fans, who endured a similar home loss to UCLA last season. Cameron Dollar’s last-second layup was the difference in that 87-86 decision.

This time, the Bruins drew from their storied history.

“I talked to my dad a couple nights ago and he was talking about how he has yet to see me take a game-winner,” Johnson said, referring to his famous father, ex-UCLA and NBA star Marques Johnson.

“He said the first time he saw UCLA play, Sidney Wicks was about to have a game-winning shot and he waved his teammate off,” Johnson added. “That actually popped into my mind.”

As the final 15 seconds wound down and Johnson continued dribbling away calmly, freshman point guard Baron Davis hurried to Johnson’s aid.

Rookie mistake.

“I saw Baron coming and it was just perfectly scripted,” Johnson went on, “so I just waved him off and I was like, ‘Hey I’m taking it.”’ Johnson’s winning shot, with .3 seconds left, broke a 75-75 tie and shattered the hearts of an enthusiastic crowd announced at 4,816.

Coach Kevin Eastman slammed his fists onto the scorer’s table while his players stood around in disbelief.

“It hurts, that’s all I can say,” said WSU forward Carlos Daniel, who led five Cougars in double figures with 18 points. “To come up short on a last-second shot, and the way the game was called, it just hurts. We did all we can do.”

Eastman concurred.

“On the last shot, Will Hutchens goes up and as Johnson is following through, Will’s hand is right there,” Eastman said. “That’s all you can do as a defender.”

Johnson, who led UCLA with 20 points, described the play differently.

“He kind of backed off of me, so that gave me a lot of time to think about it and concentrate and hit it,” Johnson said. “If he had been pressuring me, it probably would have been a different situation, and I don’t know what would have happened.”

The way it turned out, Johnson still had to make a 25-footer.

Daniel felt he had been fouled by UCLA forward J.R. Henderson with 45 seconds left, but Henderson was credited with a blocked shot and the Bruins maintained their 75-73 lead. Was Daniel fouled?

“I’m not Bobby Knight, so I can’t say certain things that certain coaches in the country can say,” Eastman said. “You guys saw it.”

UCLA went scoreless on its next trip down the floor, Johnson missing an ill-advised hook shot with :40 left, and Daniel forced the game’s final tie by hitting two free throws with 27.4 on the clock.

UCLA senior guard Toby Bailey added 19 points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal, playing perhaps his best game of the season.

“For our seniors, this was their 100th win tonight (against 23 losses),” said UCLA coach Steve Lavin, whose team improved to 21-6 overall and 11-4 in the Pacific-10 Conference.

WSU (9-18, 2-14) has two days to recover before Saturday’s 2 p.m. Friel Court tipoff against USC, to be televised live by ABC.

UCLA 78, WSU 75

UCLA (21-6) - Henderson 6-20 3-4 15, Johnson 8-18 3-4 20, Davis 3-7 0-0 7, Bailey 7-12 5-7 19, Watson 2-2 1-4 7, Knight 1-1 0-0 3, Reed 3-5 0-2 6, Loyd 0-0 0-0 0, Hines 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 30-66 13-22 78.

Washington St. (9-18) - Daniel 6-11 6-10 18, Slotemaker 3-8 3-4 10, Nelson 2-5 2-2 6, Pengelly 4-7 0-0 12, Kazadi 0-5 0-0 0, Hutchens 1-1 2-2 4, Mensah-Bonsu 3-9 4-10 10, Crosby 4-8 4-4 15. Totals 23-54 21-32 75.

Halftime-Washington St. 36, UCLA 32. 3-Point goals-UCLA 5-11 (Watson 2-2, Knight 1-1, Johnson 1-3, Davis 1-3, Bailey 0-1, Henderson 0-1), Washington St. 8-18 (Pengelly 4-7, Crosby 3-5, Slotemaker 1-4, Kazadi 0-2). Fouled out-Hines, Slotemaker, Kazadi. Rebounds-UCLA 36 (Henderson, Bailey 9), Washington St. 40 (Daniel 9). Assists-UCLA 13 (Davis 7), Washington St. 14 (Kazadi 5). Total fouls-UCLA 24, Washington St. 20. A-NA.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo