Bruins get a hard 8
PHOENIX -- Doubt came into UCLA’s game Thursday night.
It was delivered with the flapping arms and dancing feet of underdog basketball players from Western Kentucky who went from headed-home-to-Bowling Green almost all the way into the NCAA Elite Eight.
Almost.
With point guard Darren Collison fouled out and the Hilltoppers rushing, pushing, trapping, whispering “Cinderella” into Bruins ears, top-seeded UCLA survived the enthusiastic upset bid by the 12th-seeded Hilltoppers, 88-78, in the NCAA West Regional semifinals at US Airways Center.
UCLA (34-3) will play third-seeded Xavier on Saturday for the chance to advance to its third consecutive Final Four.
After strolling to a 41-20 halftime lead, the Bruins nearly collapsed in the face of Western Kentucky’s unrelenting defensive pressure in the second half.
“Western Kentucky did a great job of speeding up the game in the second half,” UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. “We did a poor job in our shot selection when we were up 15, up 17, up 18. We gave them the ball back and they would come down and score.”
With 6:57 left in the game, Hilltoppers guard Tyrone Brazelton (who had a game-high 31 points) scored a three-pointer that made the score 61-57 and with 5:39 left Collison fouled out for the first time this sea-
son when he knocked the hand of Courtney Lee on a three-point attempt.
Lee made two of his three free throws to make the score 63-59. That fifth foul was the one Collison regretted most.
“I guess I hit Lee,” he said. “It was a real long five minutes for me down the stretch. It felt like a whole other half.”
On UCLA’s next possession, with flustered Russell Westbrook trying to handle the pressure, he threw a pass to the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky’s A.J. Slaughter ran to an open spot near the Hilltoppers bench, just beyond the three-point line, and everyone stood -- hopeful Western Kentucky fans, leftover Xavier fans, disappointed West Virginia fans and nail-biting UCLA fans -- as Slaughter shot. And missed.
Some 20 seconds later, Bruins backup sophomore forward James Keefe, who had career-highs in both points (18) and rebounds (12), made two free throws that barely disturbed the net.
And with 4:32 left, still searching for his shooting confidence, Josh Shipp was forced to fling a 25-footer, a shot with no lift or trajectory but a three-pointer that went in. It gave the Bruins a 68-59 lead, enough of a margin for them all to take a deep breath and look over the waving arms and jumping Hilltoppers.
Freshman center Kevin Love also had a career-high with 29 points.
It was the second-most to Don MacLean’s 41 scored by a UCLA freshman and he added 14 rebounds.
Love was not bragging about his numbers though. A bag of ice was wrapped around his right shoulder as he said over and over, “Unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable. It was very unacceptable the way we played in the second half.
“If we play like that we will not be in this tournament very long.”
The Bruins committed a season-high 19 turnovers, 12 in the second half when the desperate Hilltoppers (29-7) started pressing with abandon. It was a creeping comeback at first -- five quick points to start the second half; a three-pointer by Lee to make it 45-30; a steal and fastbreak layup by Lee to make it 51-36; a steal by Brazelton and two free throws to make it 56-47.
During this time, UCLA was getting into foul trouble. With a little over 10 minutes left, Collison and Westbrook had four apiece and Shipp had three.
As Collison contemplated the near-wreckage that was the second half, he considered what Xavier might plan for Saturday’s regional final. Would he expect the Musketeers to press?
“They should, the way we played,” Collison said. “I’d be surprised if they don’t.”
Love shook his head in answer to the same question. “I hope they don’t,” he said. “If they do press us, I hope we take care of the ball better than we did today.”
It was sophomore Westbrook who had the most turnovers for UCLA -- five -- and who caused Howland near the end of the game to shout, “Stop dribbling so much, Russell.”
Hilltoppers Coach Darrin Horn said if he could wish for one thing it would be that he had pressed more often.
“Maybe that would have gotten us back sooner,” he said.
Those words will certainly be heard by Xavier Coach Sean Miller.
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WEST REGIONAL FINAL
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 3 Xavier
Saturday at Phoenix
3:40 p.m., Channel 2
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