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Cougs lose heartbreaker at UCLA

UCLA's Brian Morrison, right, dives for a loose ball in front of teammate Josh Shipp, center, and Washington State's Thomas Kelati. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press
UCLA's Brian Morrison, right, dives for a loose ball in front of teammate Josh Shipp, center, and Washington State's Thomas Kelati. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

LOS ANGELES — Dijon Thompson converted Brian Morrison’s steal off Washington State’s Thomas Kelati into a go-ahead breakaway layup late in the second overtime, and UCLA beat the Cougars 80-77 on Thursday after erasing a 17-point second-half deficit.

Freshman point guard Jordan Farmar scored 17 of his 19 points after halftime for UCLA (8-3, 2-1 Pac-10) and Morrison had 15.

Thomas Kelati had 18 points and Jeff Varem 17 for the Cougars, who nearly pulled off their second straight win at Pauley Pavilion.

“It was a heartbreaker to lose,” coach Dick Bennett said. “We broke down in a lot of areas, and UCLA made all the plays it had to make. We couldn’t keep them off the glass and we couldn’t keep Farmar out of the lane.”

Last February in their previous visit to Pauley, the Cougars won 55-48 despite shooting 36 percent from the field and nearly blowing a 14-point second-half lead. That win was Washington State’s first ever here in 39 visits, ending a 22-game losing streak to the Bruins and a string of 46 consecutive defeats against them at Los Angeles.

UCLA was held to a season-low 48 points in both meetings with WSU last season, winning the game at Pullman by three points.

UCLA turned it around in the second half and forced overtime with a closing 23-9 run. Farmar hit a 3-pointer that gave the Bruins a 69-64 lead with 1:19 left in the first OT. But Kelati beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer after UCLA’s Ryan Hollins missed both free throws at the other end with 6.1 seconds on the clock, and the teams went to a second extra period.

WSU (6-6, 1-1 Pac-10) did not make a field goal after Thompson’s go-ahead basket in the second OT, and he clinched the victory with three free throws in the final 25 seconds.

The Bruins went ahead 61-59 in regulation for their first lead on Thompson’s putback of Morrison’s missed 3-point shot, but Kelati responded with a 3-pointer with 15.5 seconds left to give the Cougars a one-point edge. Shipp made one of two free throws for UCLA, and Hollins blocked Kyle Weaver’s bid for a go-ahead layup with 3 seconds on the clock, sending the game into overtime.

UCLA 80, Washington St. 77 (2OT)

Washington State (6-6) – Schlatter 1-4 0-0 3, Varem 8-10 1-3 17, Low 0-2 0-0 0, Kelati 7-13 2-6 18, Weaver 4-10 2-2 10, Akognon 6-14 0-0 15, Green 0-1 2-2 2, Henry 1-2 0-0 2, Harmeling 3-6 0-0 6, Cowgill 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 32-67 7-13 77.

UCLA (8-3) – Thompson 3-14 3-4 10, Shipp 4-10 1-3 11, Fay 3-4 1-2 7, Afflalo 1-4 1-2 3, Farmar 8-14 1-1 19, Morrison 5-11 3-4 15, Mata 1-1 0-1 2, Hollins 2-5 9-15 13, McKinney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-63 19-32 80.

Halftime—Washington St. 36-21. End of Regulation—Tied at 62. End of 1st Overtime—Tied at 69. 3-Point goals—Washington St. 6-22 (Akognon 3-9, Kelati 2-4, Schlatter 1-2, Green 0-1, Low 0-2, Weaver 0-2, Harmeling 0-2), UCLA 7-21 (Farmar 2-4, Shipp 2-6, Morrison 2-7, Thompson 1-3, Afflalo 0-1). Fouled out—Varem. Rebounds—Washington St. 39 (Varem 15), UCLA 43 (Thompson 16). Assists—Washington St. 16 (Kelati 6), UCLA 15 (Farmar 6). Total fouls—Washington St. 26, UCLA 16. A—9,255.