Feb 6, 2004
Box Score
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Washington State coach Dick Bennett gave his team a
history lesson upon arriving at Pauley Pavilion, where the Cougars had never
won.
"This place housed the greatest players, teams and the best coach in NCAA
history," he said. "I pointed to each of the banners and mentioned the ones I
remembered. We needed to come out with the energy to match the feeling of this
building."
Did they ever.
Thomas Kelati scored 15 points, Jeff Varem added 13 and Washington State
defeated UCLA 55-48 Thursday night, beating the Bruins for the first time in
Los Angeles.
"This was a big win," Varem said. "We beat a good team in a place with a
lot of history."
The Cougars (10-10, 4-6 Pac-10) blew all but two points of a 14-point lead
in the second half, but recovered to end a 46-game losing streak against the
Bruins in the city - including an 0-38 record at Pauley Pavilion.
"I told the team that if it is going to happen, it's right now because they
are a young team in a new program," Bennett said. "This one is so important
because it shows we are pointed in the right direction."
John Wooden, the man who coached UCLA to 10 of its 11 national
championships, watched from behind the Bruins' bench as the Cougars made
history.
"There's a first time for everything and unfortunately it was this year,"
first-year UCLA coach Ben Howland said, his voice quieter than it's been after
any game this season.
Washington State hadn't had much luck against the Bruins on its home court,
either. The Cougars had lost 22 consecutive games to UCLA, with their last
victory coming in 1993 in Pullman.
"I heard a rumor that we can't win here," Varem said. "We had to come
together and play hard to pull this one off. We came out feeling good and
feeling we could win this game."
Howland said earlier in the week that the Cougars were a dangerous team.
Indeed, they've snapped several losing streaks in their first season under
Bennett, who has installed the same grinding defensive scheme that he used in
guiding Wisconsin to the 2000 Final Four.
The Cougars broke a 27-game road losing streak in November in Alaska;
stopped a 22-game Pac-10 road losing skid at California in January; then beat
Southern California last month to stop a nine-game slide against the Trojans.
The Cougars nearly beat No. 12 Arizona last Saturday, but lost 61-57.
"They had us playing at their tempo. They took every opportunity and made
the best out of it," UCLA senior T.J. Cummings said. "It hits me like a
dagger every time. I hate to lose."
UCLA (9-9, 5-5) continued its tailspin with its sixth straight loss after
winning its first five Pac-10 games, including a 48-45 victory over the Cougars
on Jan. 8.
The Bruins were held to 19 first-half points, but only trailed by four at
the break.
Washington State's Marcus Moore opened the second half with a 3-pointer and
Kelati followed with another. Moments later, the Cougars ran off 11 straight
points for a 40-26 lead with 11:36 remaining.
The Bruins fought back with a 17-5 burst that left them trailing 45-43 with
3:27 remaining. Cummings scored nine points in the spurt, but that would be the
Bruins' best effort the rest of the way.
"We almost gave it away," Bennett said. "When they erased the big lead I
noticed we were shook. Some timely rebounds on offense sealed the win for us."
Kelati made two free throws, then Varem scored inside after Moore grabbed
the offensive rebound and Washington State led 49-43 with 1:53 left. The
second-smallest crowd of the season at 7,299 began leaving with about a minute
to play and the Bruins down by eight.
"With the tradition and history of this program, to be going through this
again for a second year in a row is very difficult," said Howland, who
replaced the fired Steve Lavin after UCLA's worst season in decades.
Cummings and Dijon Thompson led UCLA with 15 points each. Neither team shot
better than 36 percent for the game.
UCLA's total points equaled its lowest of the season. Ironically, 48 points
were enough to beat the Cougars earlier.
