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By Dylan Hernandez

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The kid, once so timid, so passive, was driving to the basket. He was calling for -- or, rather, demanding -- the ball. There was no hesitation, no intention of deferring to his older teammates.

The game, if it were to be won, would be won with the ball in his hands.

And it was, although Cedric Bozeman wasn't on the floor for the game's final two minutes of the second and deciding overtime against Cincinnati -- the freshman point guard twisted his ankle when he came down on a Bruin cheerleader's foot while falling out of bounds after a missed shot.

Regardless, it was Bozeman who was the player of the game, the one who carried the Bruins through the contest's toughest stages. Others may have had better lines in the box score -- after all, Bozeman only had eight points, five rebounds and four assists -- but it was Bozeman who dictated the game's tempo in the second half, who didn't turn the ball over once the entire game despite being the primary ball handler, who got all of his teammates timely touches, who put the clamps on All-American Steve Logan, and who was the only Bruin capable of slashing through the Bearcat defense when the shot clock wound down.

"That's my job," Bozeman said after the game. "Coach (Steve Lavin) gave me the ball. I'm supposed to make plays.

"As the year's gone on, my confidence has been growing."

It showed.

Bozeman was composed throughout the contest, taking good care of the ball. The UCLA offense, which turned the ball over 18 times in its first-round contest against Ole Miss, committed only nine such mistakes Sunday. The lack of Bruin turnovers limited the Bearcats' opportunities in transition and forced them to run their half-court offense, which was largely unproductive.

"Cedric stepped up big-time," Bruin guard Billy Knight said. "He's taken a lot of criticism all year."

It's criticism that should temporarily subside.

On Sunday, he was the model point guard, giving the ball to the right guys at the right time. At the 3:55 mark of the second half, he lobbed a pass halfway across the court to Matt Barnes, who rose above the rim for a soft put-in and a 76-73 lead. At 1:55, he led a fast break and threw a bounce pass right into the hands of Dijon Thompson, who scored easily. At 1:01, he gave the ball to Barnes, whom he realized was in better position to feed Dan Gadzuric underneath for two.

By that point, the Bruins trusted him enough to give him what they thought would be the final shot of regulation. With the game clock nearing zero, Bozeman slashed through the paint, only to have his shot sent out of bounds by Bearcat center Donald Little.

But with 38.8 seconds left in the first overtime, Bozeman made up for the missed opportunity. He drove on Logan and spun around him to hit a short jumper, leveling the score at 90 and forcing a second extra session.

And in that second overtime, he grabbed an offensive rebound with 3:53 to go and put it in to give UCLA and 94-90 edge. Then he was toppled by the cheerleader seated by the baseline.

"He's a sophomore by now," senior guard Rico Hines said of Bozeman. "He's played in a lot of basketball games this year. He's been in tough situations before. Coach Lavin gave him the basketball and told him, 'It's your show.'"

A day earlier, Bozeman had been asked how he had performed in big games in prior stages of his career. He recalled last year's California state basketball championship game, in which he led Mater Dei High School past Modesto Christian.

"I played pretty decent," he said. "I got everyone involved. I did the intangible things."

It was that kind of performance that Cameron Dollar, the former UCLA backup point guard who starred in the 1995 NCAA championship game, wanted Bozeman to duplicate. At the request of his close friend Hines, Dollar called Bozeman on Saturday to offer some encouragement, which turned out to be worthwhile.

"It was real quick, real simple," Bozeman said. "He just said to go out there and have fun."