Bruins Score Big-Time Victory

It was a big, big game, and Arizona ran out of big, ran out of time, and ran off the Pauley Pavilion floor with anger in its soul and a timekeeper on its mind.

You know what happened in the crucial moments of UCLA’s operatic, timely 84-78 overtime victory over sixth-ranked Arizona before 11,286 on Saturday? Lute Olson got clocked.

“I’ve been in Division I for 24 years, and I’ve never seen anything so unprofessional,” Olson said, referring to the circumstances involving the reset of UCLA’s shot clock, from about 22 seconds to a fresh 35, after Bennett Davison’s block of a Charles O’Bannon shot with 1:48 left in overtime and the scored tied, 75-75.

“We all make mistakes. But don’t lie to cover it up.”

For UCLA, which raised its record to 10-4 and 5-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference, enough to gain control of first place, the controversy was a minor part of a major accomplishment.

“We’ve had some disappointments, but day by day and inch by inch, we’re getting a little better,” interim Coach Steve Lavin said.

Rallying from an eight-point deficit with seven minutes to play to tie the score, 69-69, at the end of regulation, getting a huge performance out of Charles O’Bannon (24 points, 13 rebounds) and overmatching the foul-plagued Wildcats with their size and strength, the Bruins overcame 20 turnovers to beat a ranked team for the first time in three tries this season and ran their conference home unbeaten streak to 18.

“We can use this as a stepping stool,” said forward J.R. Henderson, who had 19 points and eight rebounds, was almost single-handedly responsible for fouling out both of Arizona’s big men, and was one of four Bruins who played 40 or more minutes.

But, beyond the big picture (Arizona fell to 10-4, 3-2, after kicking off the trip with a loss at USC on Thursday; UCLA won its seventh of eight), Olson’s anger was the highlight of the postgame panorama.

Already steaming about the foul disparity (UCLA had 16 personals called, while Arizona was whistled for 29), the stately Arizona coach bubbled over when Pauley shot-clock operator Leonard Friedman argued during a break that the reset was proper because the ball hit the rim.

The reset gave UCLA a few more precious seconds of offense, which led to another Wildcat foul, two free throws by Kris Johnson, and a 77-75 lead with 68 seconds left that the Bruins did not surrender.

According to observers who watched replays, O’Bannon’s shot clearly did not hit the rim, but Henderson’s shot a few seconds earlier did, and Friedman appeared to reset the clock both times.

“The guy just flat-out lied--that’s what really disappoints me, that he would have to do something like that,” said Olson, who screamed at Friedman for the remainder of overtime, then bellowed at him for several more moments on his way to the visiting team locker room. “I hope the guy sleeps at night.

“It was a blocked shot, so how’d it hit the rim? Davison blocks it eight feet from the basket and it ricochets back to the rim?”

Friedman would not comment about the incident immediately after the game, telling a reporter only that Olson was upset about the reset.

At the end of last season’s one-point UCLA victory over Arizona at Pauley, Wildcat forward Joe McLean was whistled for a questionable call with less than a second to play, giving Johnson two free throws to win the game.

“Those kinds of things happen,” said Johnson, limited to 27 minutes because of a gimpy right ankle. “He must be thinking, aww, I can’t catch a break in L.A.”

Saturday, Olson shrugged when he was asked why UCLA was not called for a foul in the last 11:09 of the game--while Arizona was whistled 12 times in that period.

Six-foot-11 center Donnell Harris was in foul trouble all game--he fouled out with 12:25 left in regulation--and backup A.J. Bramlett picked up his fifth 10 minutes later. For much of the second half, with his only two big men stuck with fouls, Olson used a lineup with four players 6 feet 5 or shorter.

Overall, UCLA was 26 of 36 on free throws, compared to only nine of 15 for the Wildcats.

“Yeah, we foul a lot more than they do, it must be that,” Olson said, sarcastically.

Said Johnson: “We got some stops and some big rebounds, and we made our free throws, and that’s pretty much why we won.”

“I’m dead tired,” Henderson said. “But when it’s that high of an emotional game, everything flows from that, and you don’t feel it.”