/ THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Published: March 8, 2012 Updated: 9:56 p.m.
Published: March 8, 2012 Updated: 9:56 p.m.
LOS ANGELES - In many ways, UCLA’s 66-58 loss to Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament’s second round Thursday afternoon was a dead-on reflection of the Bruins’ season from hell that preceded it.
The Bruins dug themselves an early hole, continued to reel from self-inflicted wounds, rallied, then just when it appeared they finally had found daylight, they collapsed. They finally were buried for good beneath the wreckage of a season that was a disaster from opening night.
“We hit a hump,” UCLA center Anthony Stover said, “and we just couldn’t get over it.”
A season full of obstacles on and off the court, most them self-imposed, likely came to a close Thursday with a thud that will echo through one of the most scrutinized offseasons in recent UCLA history.
“From the big standpoint it wasn’t a good season for us,” center Joshua Smith said.
“All the hype that was surrounding us, we were ranked and we didn’t do the things we wanted to do. Right now it looks like our season might be over.”
Arizona (22-10) kept its slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive behind forward Solomon Hill’s 25 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs.
Jesse Perry, the Wildcats’ other forward, added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
UCLA (19-14), the preseason Pac-12 favorite, ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 as the season opened, faces the indignity of heading into the weekend wondering if it is even on the NIT bubble, having missed the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons.
“We would not snub our nose at the opportunity to play in the NIT,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
The Bruins find themselves playing the NIT waiting game because the themes prominent in season-opening upset losses to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State were still present in the Pac-12 exit against Arizona five months later.
UCLA made a series of mental mistakes at critical junctures, couldn’t rely on the underachieving Smith — once billed as the Pac-12’s most promising NBA prospect — because of foul trouble and in the end the Bruins couldn’t close.
“We had our opportunities to win this game today and did not seize the moment,” said Howland, who could have just as easily been summing up the season.
In a repeat of the slow start in an eventual 55-40 victory against USC on Wednesday, the Bruins again stumbled early against a Wildcats team playing without suspended starting point guard Josiah Turner.
UCLA was scoreless on its first four offensive possessions, had but one field goal on its first eight trips down the floor, three of the possessions ending because of turnovers.
“The first half we really started off poorly, turning the ball over,” Howland said. “… We had about eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes in the first half. “(We) really didn’t handle their pressure well. Their pressure defensively really bothered us.”
The Bruins weren’t helped by Smith, who was limited to just nine minutes because of foul trouble. He finished with seven points and three rebounds, fouling out with 11:02 remaining.
Even so UCLA, behind the play of senior guards Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson, managed to take a 46-45 lead on a steal and layup by sophomore guard Tyler Lamb with 8:17 left.
Jones finished with 17 points, five assists, a game-high, and three steals while Anderson added 14 points, four assists and three steals.
But after Jones set up an Anderson 3-point that tied the score at 51 with 6:16 remaining, the Wildcats went on a 10-2 run.
“Our first half kind of dug a hole for us,” Howland said. “We were fighting uphill from the point forward.”
He now will have plenty of time to try and finally figure a way out.
The Bruins dug themselves an early hole, continued to reel from self-inflicted wounds, rallied, then just when it appeared they finally had found daylight, they collapsed. They finally were buried for good beneath the wreckage of a season that was a disaster from opening night.
UCLA's Tyler Lamb loses the ball as he slips and falls in the first half against Arizona on Thursday in the Pac-12 Tournament. The Bruins lost to the Wildcats, 66-58. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER MORE PHOTOS »
A season full of obstacles on and off the court, most them self-imposed, likely came to a close Thursday with a thud that will echo through one of the most scrutinized offseasons in recent UCLA history.
“From the big standpoint it wasn’t a good season for us,” center Joshua Smith said.
“All the hype that was surrounding us, we were ranked and we didn’t do the things we wanted to do. Right now it looks like our season might be over.”
Arizona (22-10) kept its slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive behind forward Solomon Hill’s 25 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs.
Jesse Perry, the Wildcats’ other forward, added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
UCLA (19-14), the preseason Pac-12 favorite, ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 as the season opened, faces the indignity of heading into the weekend wondering if it is even on the NIT bubble, having missed the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons.
“We would not snub our nose at the opportunity to play in the NIT,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
The Bruins find themselves playing the NIT waiting game because the themes prominent in season-opening upset losses to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State were still present in the Pac-12 exit against Arizona five months later.
UCLA made a series of mental mistakes at critical junctures, couldn’t rely on the underachieving Smith — once billed as the Pac-12’s most promising NBA prospect — because of foul trouble and in the end the Bruins couldn’t close.
“We had our opportunities to win this game today and did not seize the moment,” said Howland, who could have just as easily been summing up the season.
In a repeat of the slow start in an eventual 55-40 victory against USC on Wednesday, the Bruins again stumbled early against a Wildcats team playing without suspended starting point guard Josiah Turner.
UCLA was scoreless on its first four offensive possessions, had but one field goal on its first eight trips down the floor, three of the possessions ending because of turnovers.
“The first half we really started off poorly, turning the ball over,” Howland said. “… We had about eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes in the first half. “(We) really didn’t handle their pressure well. Their pressure defensively really bothered us.”
The Bruins weren’t helped by Smith, who was limited to just nine minutes because of foul trouble. He finished with seven points and three rebounds, fouling out with 11:02 remaining.
Even so UCLA, behind the play of senior guards Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson, managed to take a 46-45 lead on a steal and layup by sophomore guard Tyler Lamb with 8:17 left.
Jones finished with 17 points, five assists, a game-high, and three steals while Anderson added 14 points, four assists and three steals.
But after Jones set up an Anderson 3-point that tied the score at 51 with 6:16 remaining, the Wildcats went on a 10-2 run.
“Our first half kind of dug a hole for us,” Howland said. “We were fighting uphill from the point forward.”
He now will have plenty of time to try and finally figure a way out.
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