Tonight Bob Bender’s squad played the Bruins tough for 34 minutes, but their inability to find any offense in the final six minutes of the game sealed the Huskies’ fate. The Dawgs kept the game close, never allowing UCLA a lead of more than five points until the final 4:40.
Then came the ill-timed scoring drought for the Dawgs. After Josh Barnard hit his third three-pointer of the second half to tie the game at 59 with 6:36 remaining, Huskies didn’t score again until Barnard’s fourth 3-pointer with 50 seconds left.
By then the fans were headed for the exits as UCLA had pulled away.
Barnard, a JC transfer from Tacoma, had a season high 22 points to lead Washington (including six three-point shots). Curtis Allen chipped in 15 points to help keep the Huskies in the game.
The Huskies were looking to avenge a loss just two weeks ago in Seattle after UCLA overcame a nine-point deficit to win 85-79 in the Pac-10 season opener and came close.
UCLA opened the game with full-court pressure on the Dawgs but Washington was not intimidated. Bruin center Dan Gadzuric picked up two quick fouls, inside the first minute and a half, and was on the bench with the score still 0-0 and did not return the rest of the half.
Gadzuric was a non-factor tonight but it wouldn’t matter as TJ Cummings more than picked up the slack. Cummings had 22 points and 11 boards to exploit Washington’s tentative inside game.
UCLA’s all-American Jason Kapono was held to just 13 points, eight under his average. However Doug Wrenn had an even worse night, scoring just six points and apparently still feeling the effects of an eye injury suffered against St. Louis.
Husky big men David Dixon and Jeffrey Day each picked up two quick fouls to negate their effectiveness. Both teams were forced to play smaller lineups, which seemed to play to Washington’s advantage.
The Huskies were able to fight to keep the game within reach, aided by the Bruin’s cold shooting. Late in the first half, Allen drove down the lane, took it hard against Matt Barnes for a lay in and drew a foul. The three-point play put the Dawgs on top 28-26. The lead didn’t last long. The Huskies became a bit anxious on offense and on three straight possessions, took ill-advised three-point shots very early in the offense. Allen excelled by pushing the ball and penetrating the Bruin zone, scoring ten points in the first half. The Huskies went into halftime down just three at 34-31.
Keeping the Bruins from getting offensive rebounds was the Huskies’ Achilles heel in the second half. UCLA finished the game with a huge rebounding advantage of 46-29, 18 of those on the offensive glass. Those were just too much for the Huskies to overcome.
Midway through the second half, the Huskies got consecutive long balls from Allen, Grant Leep, and Barnard. It might have been enough to push Washington over the top, but for the Huskies’ failure to rebound. UCLA used second chances to prevent Washington from opening up any big leads, and allowed them to stay close and eventually take the lead for good.
Husky Center David Dixon never did overcome his foul trouble and had but two shot attempts, missing both.
The highly anticipated debut of freshman phenom Charles Frederick was not to be tonight. He did not see any action in the game.
Fourteenth-ranked UCLA has now won eight games in a row and improved to 10-2 on the season. Washington drops to 6-7 and faces a tough USC squad on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Washington:
Scoring: Barnard 22, Allen 15, Leep 12, Wrenn 6, Massingale 5, Knight 2, Dixon 0, Day 0, Conroy 0
Rebounds: Leep 6, Day 5, Wrenn 4, Knight 4, Dixon 3, Allen 2, Barnard 2, Massingale 2
Assists: Wrenn 2, Allen 8, Barnard 2, Day 1, Conroy 1
Steals: Dixon 2, Allen 1, Day 1
Blocked Shots: Wrenn 1
3-Point FGs: Barnard 6-15, Leep 2-4, Allen 2-5, Wrenn 0-3, Knight 0-2
UCLA:
Scoring: Cummings 22, Kapono 13, Barnes 12, Knight 7, Bozeman 6, Patterson 6, Thompson 4, Gadzuric 2, Hines 2
Rebounds: Cummings 11, Knight 7, Barnes 6, Kapono 5, Hines 5, Patterson 4, Bozeman 2, Thompson 2, Gadzuric 1
Assists: Barnes 8, Patterson 3, Hines 2, Kapono 1, Knight 1, Cummings 1, Bozeman 1
Steals: Thompson 2, Barnes 1, Knight 1
Blocked Shots: Cummings 1
3-Point FGs: Barnes 1-2, Knight 1-3, Kapono 1-8
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