Cougars' rally falls short against #13 UCLA

by Grady Clapp on Jan 22, 2009 10:06 PM PST

It took a career high from Caleb Forrest, a re-energized Friel Court crowd and some great second half defense for the Cougars to erase a 15 point UCLA lead.

But it wasn't enough.

Caleb Forrest had 19 points and Aron Baynes added 15 as WSU (11-7, 3-3 Pac-10) fell to #13 UCLA (15-3, 5-1) in Pullman, 61-59.

The Bruins jumped out to a 36-23 lead at the half led by Nikola Dragovic, who was 6 of 7 from long range in the half and finished with a career high 20 points.

The second half, however, belonged to Washington State. The Cougars got some timely buckets and a few stops to cut deep into the UCLA lead. Caleb Forrest's three-pointer with 5:13 remaining tied the game at 53.

But Darren Collison drove the lane for the next six UCLA points, helping the Bruins to a four point lead.

After a Marcus Capers basket cut the lead to 61-59, the Cougars were able to get the ball back with 17 seconds remaining.

That's when Forrest was trapped by UCLA defenders, forcing Tony Bennett to call a time out. Forrest made a basket that would have potentially tied the game, but it was after the whistle.

The Cougars then struggled on the in-bounds play with 5 seconds left, eventually lobbing the ball to Marcus Capers who badly missed a three as time ran out.

It was the Bruins' 16th consecutive win in Pullman.

Player of the Game: Forrest: 19 points, 8 of 9 shooting, including a perfect 2 for 2 from three-point range. Added 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 0 turnovers.

Unsung hero: Aron Baynes. The Aussie's third straight double-double, with 15 points and 10 boards.

Play of the Game: Forrest's three to tie the game at 53. Just an incredible moment inside Beasley. What a game for Caleb.

It was over when... UCLA's Darren Collison secured the defensive rebound as time expired.

So this must be what it feels like for the other guys when Daven Harmeling goes off: UCLA's Nikola Dragovic had a career high 20 points - 18 in the first half, as the Bruins seemingly achieved an insurmountable lead.

But no Harm done: Daven Harmeling did not play for the first time this season (coach's decision), and possibly for the first time in his career while healthy.

Excuse me, but... Since when did UCLA deserve all the breaks? Like a Dragovic two-pointer in the first half that was scored as a three by the officials. Or a failed alley-oop play that bounced off the outstretched hand of a UCLA player and right into the bucket. Or any number of baskets down the stretch where the Cougars drew contact but no foul was called.

Of course, had we not fallen down so far in the first half, it wouldn't have mattered. UCLA is good enough to earn some of their own luck - and survive when things go the other way.

Rhetorical Question of the Night: I love the Bennetts. I really do. But do we even have an effective inbounds play? Or any special plays drawn up for end-of-game situations? I feel like these have been few and far between in my six years of watching Bennett ball.

Stat of the Night: The Cougars dominated UCLA in offensive rebounding percentage, 38.5% to 23.1%. That, my friends, is a wonderful sign for the future.

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Just got home and watched the recording...

WHY WAS MARCUS IN THE GAME AT THE END!!!???!!!!

by J.J. FeKl on Jan 22, 2009 10:11 PM PST reply actions

For... the defense?

Your guess is a good as mine.

I do know Tony likes to stick with the same lineup down the stretch, regardless of whether or not it makes sense. Daven Harmeling or Abe Lodwick should have been the guy in that situation.

I love Marcus, and he reminds me of the young Kyle Weaver. But the young Kyle Weaver was also awful at distance shooting.

by Grady Clapp on Jan 22, 2009 10:16 PM PST up reply actions

So I just read Grippi's gamer ...

And I’m really irked. No answer to why the worst shooter on the team was even in the game, and no answer to why Harmeling didn’t play.

You can read it here.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Jan 22, 2009 11:04 PM PST reply actions

I'd accuse Grippi of title plagiarism

But since his gamer was up 8 minutes after mine, I doubt he came over here first.

by Grady Clapp on Jan 23, 2009 9:11 AM PST up reply actions

For some reason, I haven't turned off ESPN.

So I keep seing that last play. It’s like a nightmare. I’m going to dream of Caleb being open under the basket all night.

And That Happened: Sports with a Hint of Sarcasm

by philkid3 on Jan 23, 2009 2:19 AM PST reply actions

I saw the replay this morning

I didn’t see Forrest under the basket live as I was on the other end of the court.

Clearly, the ball wasn’t designed to go to Caleb (Klay Thompson was most likely the guy and I’m sure Howland saw it coming). But how does Taylor not see him under the basket? Why was Taylor, the guy I’d choose to take the last shot, inbounding the ball anyway?

The play should have been Klay on the baseline inbounding it over the top to Rochestie at the top of the arc, who you could’ve been isolated for a last second drive or jump shot.

by Grady Clapp on Jan 23, 2009 9:09 AM PST up reply actions

I think he didn't see him becaust that 5-second clock was going off in his head

He knew he was running out of time and didn’t really have time to look around anymore. I actually think having Taylor inbound the ball was OK, and I like the idea of getting it to Klay — he’s the one guy who can get off a shot pretty much no matter who’s guarding him because of his length. I don’t like the idea of Taylor trying to get off a shot with Collison on him.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Jan 23, 2009 10:48 AM PST up reply actions

Like I said before

In every game we have lost this season all the teams 3 point percentage is at 40-50% or higher. This game was no different. UCLA shot an amazing .563 from the 3 line. When UW killed us they shot .545 for the 3 line. We now have got beat twice by two no name guys. Dentmon went 4-4 from 3 land against us and UCLA’s Dragovic went 6 of 10. Dragovic should never get 10 chances from behind the arc. 10 out 12 of Dragovic’s shots were 3’s. The only Cougar with more that 10 shot attempts was Baynes with 13. How does someone take more 3’s attempts than any combine attempts by a single Cougar player (besides Baynes). Maybe get a defender to knock him down and throw him out of his rhythm. Don’t play the outside shooter soft. If the shooter does get fouled he may get 3 free throws out of it, but next time he takes a 3 he might flinch because of what happened last time……tough defense. Get in their head!!! Sorry, just frustrated by the loss. We Couged it.

by SoCalCoug on Jan 23, 2009 7:44 AM PST reply actions

Who are we to be so upset at this loss?

Did anyone really expect, coming in, the Cougs to win this one. We’ve seen some great strides with this team over the past few weeks and I took more positives from last night than negatives. If the Cougs had matched up with UCLA four weeks ago, they would have lost by 25 points.

Every system has a weakness. That is how systems work. To be superior in an area usually results in the sacrifice of another. That is why, when teams have a great night from behind the arc, the Cougs lose these kind of games. The Bruins had open looks as a result of the weakness in the Cougs defensive system and they executed. Game. Aside from that, WSU played an outstanding ball game and I feel better about the team after this lose than I did before it.

by Jo-Jo on Jan 23, 2009 9:12 AM PST reply actions

Just Frustrated

I understand that we played great, but to get our first win over a top 25 team would have been nice. I just voiced a little frustration. A win might have got us over the hump of being in the top 5 in the Pac-10 with hopes of the NCAA Tournament. In the Pac-10 home wins are a must. I know we have a great defensive system, but I thought we could have tweaked it a bit, because UCLA does not inside game, so we could have put the pressure on the perimeter game. I think Bennett is a awesome coach and I am not saying I know it all, but from a fan perspective it seems like we could have game planned a little more to their weakness. Maybe we did, but the players just didn’t completely execute the game plan. I don’t know, but I do know that you are right, we have made huge strides since 3 weeks ago.

by SoCalCoug on Jan 23, 2009 10:00 AM PST up reply actions

It's just frustrating I think

We had a shot at the end, you could even say a good shot (though the literal shot was awful). I think people are mostly upset because it took all our team’s effort to get back into the game and then it was wasted with our worst shooter jacking up a 3.

I would say this to Cougar faithful: REMEMBER coach Bennett is only in his 3rd year of head coaching. He still makes mistakes. His mistakes the last few years were alleviated by the system his dad had installed and the insane amount of hard-luck losing / experience the players had as freshmen and sophomores. How could you go wrong on an inbounds play if Weaver is inbounding the ball to either Baynes down low, Rochestie out top or D-Low coming off a screen? Tony has made plenty of mistakes in the past and hopefully he is learning from them. Remember Ivory Clark sitting on the bench for the crucial minutes of the Vandy game despite being possibly the best player the game before? Just because he won COY doesn’t mean he won’t make boneheaded mistakes occasionally. Heck, for all I know Capers was supposed to set a screen for Thompson or something and just didn’t execute properly.

A couple hours after this game I was able to cool off and think positive. I hope this game gives us momentum against USC, I really think that’s a winnable game. They should not be nearly as able to kill us from 3pt range so we should have an edge.

I agree Jo-Jo, I feel better about the Cougs after than I did before!

Tony Bennett for Heisman!

by johnnycougar on Jan 23, 2009 10:05 AM PST up reply actions

coming into this game, in the position the Cougs were in

against an opponent like UCLA, all you really try to do is put yourself in a position to have a shot at the end. The Cougs did exactly that. This is not a game that WSU should have won, so I don’t understand all the “This one hurts” talk. I didn’t hurt to me. What hurt was watching the first half and looking like they weren’t even going to compete. But then they put their big boy pants on and showed some sack. This win doesn’t hurt at all.

To be in the top half of the Pac means you beat the teams in the bottom half and hope to put yourself in a position to have a shot against the top half teams. Aside from UW, that is exactly what the Cougs have done. And you know what? They’ve still got a second chance at them, and Cal, and UCLA. Granted those are all on the road, but they’ve beaten the teams that they were supposed to beat. By the end of the Pac-10, they’ll be in the middle third somewhere and the losses that will really hurt this team will be LSU and Gonzaga.

Remember, the Cougs have made the post season the past two years without beating UCLA. As great as a win over that team would be, and as much as it would help, the Bruins are not the key to the season.

by Jo-Jo on Jan 23, 2009 11:45 AM PST up reply actions

BUT

Without a good win on our resume, we had a chance to get one. The team the last two years had other quality wins, so the losses to UCLA didn’t matter. This team needs good wins. Last night was a missed opportunity to get one.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Jan 23, 2009 12:57 PM PST up reply actions