Cougars’ comeback falls just short

LOS ANGELES – When this Washington State basketball season is over, the team’s record will show a road loss at UCLA, no more or less meaningful than an earlier loss to Arizona or any other on the Pacific-10 Conference schedule.

But to Josh Akognon, Kyle Weaver and the Cougars, mark it down – this loss will be remembered as a little bit different.

Down 51-34 with barely 8 1/2 minutes left, the Cougars turned a dull, lifeless loss into a heartbreaker, pulling all the way back. Almost all the way back, that is.

A missed UCLA free throw with 7.1 seconds left gave the Cougars, trailing by two, a chance. They got the ball in to Weaver and did just what head coach Dick Bennett wanted.

“We had a play,” Bennett said. “It was to put the ball in his hands and get away from him.”

WSU did just that, and Weaver managed to slice through the UCLA defense from coast-to-coast, only to watch a left-handed layup roll off the rim. A Chris Henry tip also fell away, and the Bruins had saved a 63-61 win before 9,550 fans at Pauley Pavilion.

“I saw a little opening and the defense kind of shifted away from me. I thought I could get to the hoop and get an easy one,” Weaver said. “I missed a bunny.”

Weaver may have had the last play, but it was Akognon responsible for giving him the chance.

Blanketed by the Bruins (14-2, 4-1 Pac-10) in the first half, Akognon failed to score and managed just two ugly shots. But then the reigning Pac-10 player of the week, having scored 27 at Washington last week, nearly matched that in the second half. The sophomore guard scored 25 points, hitting all six of his 3-point attempts following the break. He also hit five straight free-throw attempts in the final minute of the game.

“I just worked a little bit harder,” Akognon said of the second-half scoring bonanza. “I knew I was going. I was hot.”

In one stretch, Akognon scored 14 of 16 for WSU on the comeback trail, but even with his remarkable shooting the Cougars (9-4, 2-2) never led after they scored the first bucket of the game because UCLA completely dominated the first 30 minutes.

The Bruins led 31-17 at the half and the Cougars were able to score only when low-percentage looks happened to fall.

“Their execution in the first half was as good as I’ve seen,” Bennett said. “Their screens, their cuts, their timing was perfect. And we were not a smart team, either, in the first half, which led to that.”

Bennett juggled his lineup drastically in the second half, starting little-used freshman Chris Matthews alongside Akognon. Later, those two were on the floor at the same time as big men Henry and Aron Baynes, who rarely play at the same time.

“I was just that disgusted,” Bennett said. “They weren’t even listening.”

Weaver was second to Akognon in the scoring column with nine points, while the Bruins had three players in double figures – Arron Afflalo with 18, Jordan Farmar with 12 and Michael Roll with 10.

But even if the Cougars don’t remember every detail from this early conference game, they’ll certainly recall enough to make it more painful than your average loss.

“Devastating,” Akognon said. “We wanted this game so bad.”

Notes

Next up for the Cougars is USC in the Los Angeles Sports Arena Saturday evening. … This was WSU’s first loss by three points or less this season after doing so eight times in 2004-05. … UCLA’s Lorenzo Mata injured a knee with just more than 3 minutes left in a major collision under the basket, leading to Josh Akognon’s 3 at the other end.

Mata will likely have an MRI and an X-ray on his right leg. … The 17 first-half points for WSU was its lowest in a half this season, but for the second straight game the Cougars had more than 40 in the second half.

UCLA 63, WSU 61

Percentages: FG .434, FT .615. 3-Point Goals: 7-12, .583 (Akognon 6-8, Matthews 1-3, Weaver 0-1). Team Rebounds: 27. Blocked Shots: 3 (Clark 2). Turnovers: 11 (Weaver 6). Steals: 4 (Henry 3). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .500, FT .438. 3-Point Goals: 6-22, .273 (Roll 2-6, Farmar 2-7, Collison 1-1, Afflalo 1-8). Team Rebounds: 33. Blocked Shots: 5 (Mata 2). Turnovers: 12 (Farmar 3). Steals: 4 (Aboya 2). Technical Fouls: None.

Halftime–UCLA 31, Washington State 17. A–9.550.