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Well, now I just feel cheated.

I was all ready to rip into UCLA when the Bruins went down by 20 at halftime.

To USC.

At home.

I had a plenty of barbs and witticisms ready to toss out. I was going to say things like, “The only things more disjointed and sadly pathetic than the Bruin offense were those god-awful ‘dance routines’ by the Trojan cheerleaders.”

I was prepared to lash out at the complete lack of effort and guts by the Bruins in that first half. ’SC came in and punched UCLA right in the mouth, in Pauley Pavilion. And the Bruins just sat there with their arms at their sides for the first 20 minutes of the game, doing absolutely nothing about the mockery the Trojans were making of them.

I could’ve gone on with some clever and amusing similies comparing the ugliness of their first half performance with something really really ugly, like a cross between a horse, an opossum and Desmon Farmer.

Oh, I was ready all right. Surely UCLA would feel the wrath of my bitter tongue.

But darn it if those Bruins didn’t come back – and in a big way.

Pauley Pavilion got louder and more excited as UCLA crept slowly back into the game. The fans cheered when the Bruins got within 15 points. It was on its feet at 12. The student section went ballistic when the lead was cut to 10, and even the alumni – whose preferred method of cheering appears to be silent applause – were making something resembling clapping noises.

UCLA needed this win. It needed it badly, and not just for school pride. The Bruins had lost three straight and were on the verge of spiraling into disaster. A loss to the Trojans meant that UCLA would be in the midst of a four-game losing streak in the Pac-10.

(Kind of like football, eh?)

A victory would mean so much, while a loss would deal UCLA’s NCAA tournament hopes a crushing blow. As such, the massive comeback effort was as desperate as the Bruin’s circumstances.

Everything UCLA had done in the first half didn’t seem to matter anymore.

Never mind the fact that none of the starters – yes, none of them – had scored by halftime with the sole exception of a rejuvenated Ryan Hollins. T.J. Cummings finally got things started, scoring five straight, while Dijon Thompson fired away and hit three huge bombs from downtown. Hollins was dunking on putbacks, Cedric Bozeman got the offense working again, and everything pointed to a perfect ending.

Down 71-68 with just over two minutes left, Pauley was ready to explode. Farmer and Errick Craven were bricking the front ends of free throws, and the Bruins had their opportunity.

Oops, there it goes.

Cummings misfired on a 20-footer from the top of the key, Bozeman had a costly turnover, and just like that the comeback was all for naught.

And just like that, UCLA’s tournament chances biked out. Now, it’s going to take some miracle, a big upset of Stanford/Arizona or a strong run in the Pac-10 tournament, just to make sure the Bruins get considered.

But more importantly, as UCLA fumbled its way to a loss against those freaking Trojans, virtually any momentum built up by the team has been decimated. When the last seconds ticked off the clock, all I could do was sigh and curse myself for ever believing they could come back.

I was all set to lay into them, but now I don’t even have the heart.

Now, I just feel cheated.

Ugh, weak sauce status. E-mail Yuhl if you understand at cyuhl@media.ucla.edu.