Thompson Regains His Scoring Touch

By Jason Reid

Jan. 30, 2005 12 AM PT

A two-game slump might not ruin a season, but UCLA senior forward Dijon Thompson seemingly regressed by the minute against Stanford and California.

Thompson must have forgotten he had made major strides while stirring big expectations for the Bruins and their fans this season, or it only appeared that way, but something big was missing.

So with UCLA’s season on the brink Saturday against USC and Thompson still searching at halftime, sophomore forward Matt McKinney delivered a message for the Bruin Nation.

“I talked to Dijon and told him he’s our leader,” McKinney said. “I said, ‘Dijon, it’s up to you.’ ”

The reminder apparently came just in time for Thompson, who awakened to help the Bruins overcome an 18-point halftime deficit in a 72-69 victory over the Trojans at the Sports Arena.

Thompson scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, including six of the Bruins’ first nine points in a 9-4 burst in the opening two minutes out of the locker rooms that cut the Trojans’ lead to 47-34.

The Bruins suddenly had hope, the Trojans had doubts and Thompson had sparked change.

“You go into halftime down 18 and there’s no time to come out and be passive,” UCLA freshman guard Arron Afflalo said. “You need to come out and be aggressive. That’s what you have to do.

“You’re not going to get it all back at once, and you know that. But you’ve got to get it down quickly. Dijon ... Dijon helped us a lot.”

And not only at the outset of a second half UCLA dominated, 47-26.

Thompson was even better with the game still undecided in the final four minutes, scoring seven of the Bruins’ final nine points to help them end a four-game losing streak to their rivals and a three-game slide in the

Pacific 10 Conference.

The inspired performance from Thompson wasn’t surprising considering his standing among the Pac-10’s top players -- but it was definitely long overdue.

“Dijon had a huge game,” UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. “That’s who he is. He’s one of the best players in the conference, without question.”

There are renewed questions about Thompson and UCLA because of a Pac-10 losing streak that might prompt the Bruins to reconsider their March travel plans.

UCLA had visions of returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002, and Thompson led them to a strong 4-1 start in the conference. He asserted himself on a team with many freshmen playing major roles, emerging among the Pac-10’s statistical leaders and as the Bruins’ calming on-court presence.

Then came Stanford and California.

The Bruins expected to rebound at Pauley Pavilion after having lost to Arizona, 76-73, Jan. 15 at the McKale Center. Thompson, who had team-highs with 27 points and 10 rebounds against the Wildcats, and the Bruins were still upbeat about possibly winning the conference title.

Their mood changed after losses in which Thompson scored six and seven points, respectively. In the last two games, Thompson missed 15 of 20 field-goal attempts and all five three-point attempts.

Talk about a bad week.

“I went through a lot,” Thompson said. “I did a lot of thinking and a lot of meditating.

“It’s my senior year. I wanted to turn it around.”

Thompson’s father also provided a helping hand.

“We talked about being more aggressive, especially today,” Thompson said. “I had passed on some shots in the last couple of games that I didn’t want to pass on today.”

Thompson’s layup tied the score at 65-65 with four minutes remaining against USC. He made a jump shot to put UCLA ahead, 69-67, with 3:03 left, and his two free throws at the 57-second mark gave the Bruins the lead for good, 71-69.

Thompson’s final free throw with 16 seconds to play provided the final margin. He made eight of 11 free throws and shared the team lead with seven rebounds.

“He took over when the game got tight for us offensively,” Howland said. “He made plays, he did a lot of good things down the stretch, and he made his free throws.

“That’s what you want your senior to do. At one point, I looked out there and it was Dijon and four freshmen. I was really, really happy with Dijon’s play.”

Thompson’s teammates also appreciated his effort.

“He stepped up and didn’t force anything,” Afflalo said. “He just played within the flow and everything he did was great.

“He was constantly in my ear when things weren’t going well for me. I’m real proud of him. He came through for us. He’s our senior leader.”

As if anyone needed to be reminded.