Inconsistency plagues No. 17 UCLA

Published: Friday, March 1, 1996

Bruins nearly blow 11-point lead in final minute against Beavers

By Scott Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Staff

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Before the college basketball season even began, Jim Harrick knew that the immaturity of this season's UCLA squad would present one of the toughest challenges he's ever faced as a head coach.

But Harrick, winding down his eighth season at the UCLA helm, didn't realize that the problem would take so long to solve.

With only three games left in the regular season, the 17th-ranked Bruins are still struggling through long periods of inconsistency and Thursday night, it almost cost them dearly.

They did escape with a 68-66 victory over Oregon State in front of 5,873 at Gil Coliseum, but only after a three-point attempt by Beaver guard Rob Williams caromed off the rim as time expired.

"We are our own worst enemy," Harrick said. "We go for a while, and then we just lose concentration and focus. This late in the season is not a good thing - I don't like it."

Harrick may not like it, but he can't seem to stop it. Just last Sunday, the Bruins (20-7 overall, 13-3 Pacific 10) crumbled down the stretch in an 85-66 loss at Duke. Several Bruins claimed that the loss to the Blue Devils would be the last straw, that there would be no more mental lapses.

But against Oregon State (3-22, 1-15), UCLA fell off the wagon again. And if the debacle in North Carolina did little to help the Bruins hope for a high seed in the rapidly approaching NCAA Tournament, then a loss to the Beavers would have been devastating.

Oregon State entered the game with a 13-game losing streak, and with only one league victory, sat alone in last place in the Pac-10. Only one of its players averaged in double figures in scoring, and as a team, the Beavers ranked at the bottom of the conference in most statistical categories.

Simply put, UCLA had absolutely no business having any trouble with Oregon State.

And when Toby Bailey scored in traffic with 1:16 remaining, pushing the Bruin lead to 64-53, it appeared that UCLA took care of the business at hand.

Instead, they suffered another lapse, and Oregon State capitalized with a furious run that left them down by just one point with eight seconds left.

Williams started the run for the Beavers, draining a pair of three-pointers to cut the UCLA lead to six.

Then, following William's second trey, UCLA guard Kris Johnson threw the inbound pass to Oregon State's Markee Brown, who was fouled by Johnson on his way to the basket.

Johnson's turnover was only the first of five critical errors by the Bruins in the final 45 seconds. After Brown hit his second free throw, the Beavers went to the press and forced another turnover, this time by Charles O'Bannon.

Brown missed a jumper on the ensuing possession, and O'Bannon hit a pair of free throws after being fouled at the other end of the court.

But Williams answered with his third three-point basket of the night, and UCLA, clinging to a three-point lead, was left with an opportunity to make yet another gaffe.

Johnson took off toward the offensive end after Williams' trey had an uncontested layup. His basket was nullified, however, when Cameron Dollar was called for a moving screen against a trailing Brown.

It was UCLA's seventh team foul, giving Brown a one-and-one opportunity. He missed the first, but a Kevin Dempsey granted him another chance when he stepped into the lane too early. Brown canned both ends of the one-and-one to close the gap to 67-66.

O'Bannon was fouled before the ball was even inbounded, and with eight seconds left, he hit the first of two free throws to put the Bruins up by two and set up Williams' final attempt.

It was probably a fitting end to a game which saw UCLA go up by nine points midway through the first half, only to have the Beavers claw their way back and enter the locker room tied at 27.

"Most of it was us, we just lost our concentration," O'Bannon said. "Oregon State played well, they crawled back and had a chance to win it. We're just happy to come away with the victory."

O'Bannon had 16 points and six rebounds to pace UCLA, which shot 52.4 percent from the field and outrebounded Oregon State, 34-22. The Beavers, who shot 46.2 percent, were led by J.D. Vetter's 15 points.

* * *

Now, UCLA heads to Eugene, where it will face Oregon in a nationally televised 2:30 p.m. showdown at McArthur Court. Should the Bruins emerge victorious over the Ducks, they will assure themselves at least a share of their second consecutive Pac-10 title.

But McArthur Court has not been a friendly venue for UCLA. Last season, the Bruins entered their conference opener in Eugene ranked No. 2 in the country, only to be handed an 82-72 upset by an upstart Oregon squad. It was their second consecutive defeat in Oregon, making Dempsey the lone member of this year's club to enjoy a win in the 10,063-seat arena.

"It's time to put an end to that," O'Bannon said. "I've won everywhere else in the Pac-10, and it's time to go over there and get a victory."

FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Junior forward Charles O'Bannon sank one free throw in the closing seconds to help the Bruins escape with a 68-66 win against Pac-10 cellar-dweller Oregon State.

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