Bruins Say Dunk You Very Much

OAKLAND —  The California Golden Bears slam-dunked themselves out of this one, right into UCLA’s grateful hands.

With assistance by Cal’s illogical last-second blunder, a little technical help, and on the shoulders of Toby Bailey’s biggest baskets of the season, the eighth-ranked UCLA Bruins edged the Bears, 74-73, before 10,927 at the Oakland Arena on Thursday night.

Down by three, with time expiring, Cal point guard Raymond King inexplicably dumped a pass inside to Sean Marks, who dunked the ball with 3.3 seconds left, assuring the Bruins a one-point victory.

What was UCLA Coach Steve Lavin’s response to that play?

“Oh,” Lavin said, “I was happy.”

And, with a matchup against seventh-ranked Stanford up next at the arena in which the Bruins last season suffered a 48-point defeat, UCLA’s savvier players knew how truly significant this victory was.

“I think this was the biggest win for us so far this year,” said Bailey, who had 16 points. “I don’t like to talk too much like this, but, realistically, we need to split on the road and win at home.

“And when you’re going up against Stanford on Saturday, I’ll take my chances against the Bears then see what happens Saturday. Stanford, they’re a huge team.”

Bailey agreed that his thinking was merely being realistic, especially for a UCLA team (13-2, 4-1 in conference play) that was as much as eight points behind in the second half Thursday and needed a 49-point second half to grab this victory.

Cal was in foul trouble almost from the outset of the second half, and UCLA cashed that it by making 19 of its 24 free throws in the period. Kris Johnson made 10 of 12 for the game, and J.R. Henderson was 11 for 13.

Henderson led the Bruins with 25 points, Johnson added 23 (17 in the second half), meaning UCLA’s three seniors combined for 64 of the 74 points. For Cal (5-7, 1-3), Michael Gill led four players in double figures with 14.

Leading a second-half rebounding resurgence, Johnson led UCLA with 12 rebounds, a career high and his first double-double.

“This was about the seniors tonight,” Lavin said. “I think the second half was our best half of the year. In the first half [Cal led, 32-25], I don’t think we competed very well. That second half was the way UCLA can play basketball.”

The key moments of the game came after Cal guard Thomas Kilgore’s one-handed flip shot over Jelani McCoy with 7:46 left, which gave Cal a 61-53 lead, finishing an 11-2 run after UCLA battled back into the game, and forced a Bruin timeout.

Two minutes later, UCLA took advantage of a technical foul called on Kilgore--for throwing the ball at Henderson--and Baron Davis’ three-pointer for a five-point possession, which suddenly closed the gap to 63-60.

UCLA took its first lead of the second half with 2:54 left, 67-66, on two free throws by Henderson, then, after a Geno Carlisle basket, moved to a 70-68 lead on Bailey’s three-pointer with the shot clock winding down.

It was Bailey’s second three-pointer of the second half, both from near NBA distance.

“The shot clock was going down, and when I got the ball they yelled for me to shoot it,” Bailey said. “So that’s what I did--that’s when I think I shoot the ball the best, when there’s no indecision, I just shoot it.”

Said Cal Coach Ben Braun: “Toby Bailey made the key shot for them, and that showed what kind of player he is for them.”

Things started slowly, with the Bears missing their first six shots, but their active matchup zone strangled UCLA’s cluttered half-court offense, and held UCLA to 38.1% field-goal shooting in the half.

Cal shot only 33.3% in the first half, but used a 9-0 run to take a 24-21 advantage with 5:07 left to play.

The Bruins committed eight of their 13 first-half turnovers in the last 7:48 and the Bears got big first-half performances out of Marks (seven points, seven rebounds) and Gill (nine points, four rebounds).

“Anyone who knows basketball can see that we have deficiencies,” Lavin said. “This team is finding ways to get it done.”