UW cracks Pauley
LOS ANGELES – The Washington Huskies are learning to love the road.
After two straight conference losses at home, they came away with two wins in Southern California, including their first victory at Pauley Pavilion in nearly 19 years.
Bobby Jones pulled down a key rebound and made three free throws in the final seconds to give No. 13 Washington a 69-65 victory over No. 11 UCLA on Saturday.
Jamaal Williams had 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting for Washington (14-2, 3-2 Pac-10), while Jon Brockman scored 12 points and Jones had 11.
The Huskies needed the balanced attack, as leading scorer Brandon Roy went 3 for 9 from the field and scored just 10 points after averaging 30 in Washington’s four previous conference games.
Washington overcame a 12-point halftime deficit, shooting 64 percent in the second half to win its first game at Pauley Pavilion since Jan. 29, 1987.
“After not winning here for so long, it feels like a big, old accomplishment,” Jones said. “Now hopefully we can take this back to Seattle.”
Washington coach Lorenzo Romar added: “Obviously we haven’t had success here. Last year, we were in the opposite position because we were the ones with the early lead. Give our guys credit. They really battled back.”
The Huskies have won all three of their road games this season, all in Southern California. They beat New Mexico in the John Wooden Classic in Anaheim on Dec. 10, and beat USC 86-77 Thursday.
That win came on the heels of losses in Seattle to Arizona on Dec. 31 and Washington State on Jan. 7.
The Huskies led 64-62 with 21 seconds to play when Washington’s Mike Jensen missed the front end of a one-and-one. Jones scrambled past several Bruins for the rebound.
“Mike’s a pretty good free-throw shooter, but in those cases you still want to go hard.” Jones said. “Usually they pinch down on me, so I backed up and let them collide. I stayed in there and I was able to get the rebound.”
Jones was fouled and made both free throws.
“After I made the first one, the second one was easy,” he said.
Arron Afflalo answered with a 3-pointer for UCLA (14-3, 4-2) to make it a one-point game, but Jones made 1 of 2 free throws at the other end to put Washington up 67-65 with 11 seconds left.
UCLA had a chance to tie, but Luc Richard Mbah A Moute was called for traveling as he approached the basket. Brockman dunked at the buzzer for the final margin.
Michael Roll led UCLA with 17 points – 14 in the first half – and Afflalo scored 16. Mbah A Moute added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
UW faced a 15-point deficit, its biggest of the season, in the first half.
But the Huskies opened the second half with a 20-10 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Jones that pulled the Huskies within 50-48.
(13) UW 69, (11) UCLA 65
Washington (14-2) – Jones Jr. 3-11 4-6 11, Williams 7-11 0-0 14, Brockman 6-11 0-0 12, Roy 3-9 4-6 10, Dentmon 1-3 0-0 2, Smith 2-3 0-0 4, Appleby 3-5 0-0 9, Gasser 1-1 0-0 2, Jensen 2-4 0-1 5. Totals 28-58 8-13 69.
UCLA (14-3) – Roll 5-6 2-2 17, Mbah a Moute 6-9 0-0 13, Wright 4-5 0-0 8, Farmar 1-7 1-2 3, Afflalo 6-15 0-0 16, Collison 2-6 0-0 4, Rubin 1-1 0-0 2, Aboya 1-2 0-1 2, Hollins 0-0 0-0 0, Fey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-51 3-5 65.
Halftime–UCLA 40-28. 3-Point Goals–Washington 5-18 (Appleby 3-5, Jensen 1-3, Jones Jr. 1-6, Smith 0-1, Dentmon 0-1, Roy 0-2), UCLA 10-23 (Roll 5-6, Afflalo 4-11, Mbah a Moute 1-2, Collison 0-1, Farmar 0-3). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Washington 32 (Jones Jr. 12), UCLA 26 (Mbah a Moute 11). Assists–Washington 16 (Dentmon, Roy 4), UCLA 19 (Farmar 12). Total Fouls–Washington 12, UCLA 16. A–10,232.