MARY CIECEK/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Earl
Watson (middle) goes to the basket over Oregon State’s
Josh Steinthal (left) and Jason
Heide. Watson led the Bruins with 20
points. UCLA 68 OREGON STATE 65
By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
CORVALLIS, Ore. Two different Bruin squads came out of the
locker room Saturday afternoon.
The group that came out for the first half was overwhelmed by an
Oregon State squad looking to spoil UCLA’s recent successes.
The UCLA ballclub that took the floor for the second half
mirrored the defensive intensity of the Beavers and clawed its way
back from an eight-point deficit midway through the second
half.
The No. 15 Bruins (19-6, 12-2 Pac-10) had a 13-5 run at the end
of regulation to force overtime and defeat Oregon State (10-17,
4-11) 68-65 before 8,607 fans at Gill Coliseum. The Bruins, in
second place in the conference, have now won seven in a row and 15
of their last 17.
"We were very fortunate to escape with a win," UCLA Head Coach
Steve Lavin said. "We stepped up collectively on defense in the
second half and overtime and were able to pull out a tough game on
the road."
The Bruins found themselves in a war early, battling against the
Beavers’ three-headed attack of forward Brian Jackson, guard Jimmie
Haywood and center Jason Heide, who was absent in the previous
meeting between the two teams. OSU’s triumvirate combined for 28
points on 12-for-17 shooting in the first half.
But it was the Beavers’ collapsing defense in the paint and
aggressiveness on the perimeter that stunned the Bruins. UCLA shot
only 39 percent in the first half and shot 2 of 12 to close out the
half.
Meanwhile, Oregon State went 6 of 8 in the same span, finishing
the last eight minutes of the first half on a 17-4 run to lead
33-25 at halftime.
"They established the low post early on us," Lavin said. "Heide
posted up, we didn’t limit their catches and he was deep in the
paint. He went to work on us in the first half."
"But in the second half, our chief  Dan Gadzuric Â
went to work in the paint," said Lavin.
UCLA’s first offensive set after halftime was a high-low set,
with junior forward Matt Barnes lobbing a pass to Gadzuric for a
two-handed jam. But throughout the second half, every time the
Bruins managed to close the gap, the Beavers responded with a big
basket.
After junior guard Billy Knight’s pull-up jumper that had Bruins
trailing 33-31, OSU’s Jackson connected on a three-pointer from the
top of the key. When Gadzuric tipped in an Earl Watson missed
jumper to close the score to 36-33 at 14:52, Jackson answered with
another long-range bomb on the right wing.
"To be able to beat teams like that, you have to be able to make
plays," Jackson said.
"Late in the game, though, they made the plays and we
didn’t."
OSU shot well from beyond the arc in the second frame, going 5
for 11 from downtown. However, the Beavers went 2 of 11 from the
rest of the field in the second half and the Bruin guns fired a
blistering 52 percent after halftime.
MARY CIECEK/Daily Bruin Senior Staff UCLA’s Billy
Knight goes up against Oregon State’s Brian
Jackson in the Bruin’s overtime win in Corvallis.
Knight finished with 16 points and was a key
player in the overtime period. Beaver junior guard Adam Masten’s
three-pointer at 8:18 gave the home team a 52-44 advantage. But
UCLA got a Barnes running one-hander, three Watson free throws in
four tries, a Gadzuric conversion from the charity stripe and a
Knight three-pointer over the next four minutes to knot the score
at 53.
The Bruins grabbed their first lead of the second half on a
Watson layup. Three Beaver free throws gave them a 56-55 lead, but
Watson dialed his number again, hitting a double-clutch jumper in
the lane with 41 seconds left in regulation time to regain the
lead. Watson failed to convert the three-point play and two free
throws on the next UCLA possession, but vowed to redeem
himself.
"I was so mad at myself," said Watson, who finished with a
game-high 20 points. "I was saying to myself that if we lose this
game, I am going to have to sleep in the gym from now on."
OSU’s Jackson converted the second attempt with 18 seconds left.
The Bruins had a chance to win the game with 6.2 seconds, but OSU
snuffed out any good looks at the basket to send the game to
overtime at 57-57.
In the extra frame, Gadzuric opened with a rebound and a bank
shot for two of his 15 points.
But the crucial conversion was a Knight three-pointer with 50
seconds left in overtime.
"We have been practicing that play since the summer," said
Knight, who finished with 16 points. "When time is running down,
Earl tells me to spot myself down in the corner."
"He just gives me a look. If he has a layup, he takes it.
Otherwise, he kicks out to me," said Knight.
With the Bruins leading 64-60, OSU’s Haywood nailed a
three-pointer of his own with 27 seconds to go to close the margin
to one.
But UCLA hit 4 of 6 free throws at the end of overtime, and a
final Jackson three-point attempt bounced off the rim and over the
backboard, to help the Bruins pull out the victory.
"I told the kids I was very proud of the way they found a way to
win in overtime," Lavin said. "Conference play is very competitive
and winning on the road is tough."
Winning in the Pac-10 doesn’t get easier with California and
Stanford invading Westwood this week. For the Bruins or anyone
staking claim to the conference title, winning is a matter of
survival, not just domination  as demonstrated in Oregon.