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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bruins top WSU in OT again


Washington State's Derrick Low dives for the ball between UCLA's Jordan Farmer, left, and Ryan Hollins late in the second half. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

PULLMAN – At the end of regulation Thursday, UCLA’s top scoring threat beat the buzzer to send the game into overtime. At the end of overtime, Washington State University’s top scoring threat couldn’t match the feat.

With that, the Cougars had lost their second overtime decision of the season to the Bruins, this one by a 58-56 score on Friel Court before 5,168 fans distraught by another near miss at home.

It had appeared that WSU might have nailed the game down when Thomas Kelati drained two free throws just 6.2 seconds away from the end of regulation. But UCLA point guard Jordan Farmar found a wide-open Dijon Thompson on the right wing when the Cougars defense swarmed him at the 3-point line. Thompson coolly drilled the open look as time expired, knotting the contest at 49 and extending the game for 5 extra minutes.

Near the conclusion of overtime, Thompson once again drilled a key shot, this one an 18-footer that turned out to be the winning bucket when WSU’s Jeff Varem couldn’t hit an 18-footer after dribbling the length of the court in the final 4 seconds of overtime to attempt to send the game to a second overtime.

Afterward, a visibly upset Dick Bennett shouldered the responsibility for the loss. Originally, he had planned on calling a timeout after Kelati’s second free throw at the end of regulation but changed his mind. That decision led to the chaotic finish and Thompson’s 3-pointer.

“I told the referee I wanted it and then I changed my mind,” Bennett said. “A couple of the assistants didn’t think I should because they didn’t have any. We were not particularly organized. We left their best shooter alone. We either could have fouled or just played straight up and made them take one over us.”

Kelati agreed with his coach, saying that it might have helped to take a breather and get settled for the final play of regulation.

“Usually in a situation like that one, there’s a timeout called or something like that when you get organized,” Kelati said. “They just came down and I think we were kind of flustered, running around. It’s easy to get lost out there.”

Thompson said he thought he could get an open shot, but didn’t necessarily expect to be that wide open, given the fact that he and Farmar were the only Bruins in the area.

“They had to respect me and Farmar,” said Thompson, who had a game-high 24 points to go with eight rebounds. “I was surprised, though, because it looked like they triple-teamed Farmar.”

The Cougars (9-10, 4-6 Pac-10) were hurt by a lack of perimeter production for much of the game, hitting just 5 of 20 from 3-point range.

With Varem – who matched Kelati with a team-best 17 points – the only real threat inside for the Cougars, it would have helped to have more players shooting well outside. But Kelati didn’t heat up until late and point guard Derrick Low was just 2 of 11 from the floor, though both shots were key buckets in overtime. Still, the Bruins (12-6, 6-4) had all the answers they needed in the OT session.

“Without an inside game unless we can get Jeff in there isolated, we need to have a few more shooters on the perimeter and it doesn’t seem like we’re able to find that,” Bennett said.

The loss was especially discouraging as the Cougars were coming off their biggest win in years at Arizona the previous weekend. With last-place USC coming to Pullman on Saturday, it appeared to be a great chance to piece together a winning streak.

“We have not been successful at home in the two years I’ve been here and that’s disappointing because this is where you’re supposed to make up ground,” Bennett said. “We made the plays, we had the lead and it was a coaching blunder. … That one is going to stick with me forever because the game was right there. I just feel horrible about it.”

Notes

WSU junior guard Randy Green missed the game with a lower left leg injury. Green is day-to-day. … This is the first time since 1951-52, against Montana, that WSU has played multiple OT games in one season against a team.