The Washington Huskies play one of two types of games this season. They play high-flying high-scoring contests, or they play ugly slogs where neither team scores 60 points. They win the first kind. They lose the second. Such was the case again on Thursday night when the Larry Drew II hit a 16 foot jumper with a spare second on the clock, and UCLA won 59-57 at Pauley Pavilion in Westwood, California.
If a basketball game can be likened to a movie this one was "Ishtar." Both teams struggled in a first half that was marred by missed shots, turnovers, and generally sloppy play. UCLA sophomore guard Norman Powell hit a three point shot from the baseline as time expired in the half, and the two teams were tied at 28 at intermission.
Washington struggled again from beyond the arc, something that has been a terrible inconsistency for the Dawgs. Abdul Gaddy's three with less than five minutes to play was Washington's first triple of the night. It was also their second to last triple of the night. Though their rebounding kept them in the game (44 caroms for the Huskies, 34 for the Bruins) it was Washington's poor shooting from the outside and careless ball handling (19 turns) that wrote the script in the shadow of Hollywood Thursday night.
Washington (13-10 overall, 5-5 conference) slides into the Pac-12s second division with their loss. UCLA (17-6, 7-3) awaits the outcome of the Oregon-Colorado game. An Oregon loss ties the Ducks and Bruins for second in the conference, just behind Arizona.
The Huskies conclude their L.A. swing Sunday evening with a 7:00 p.m. P.S.T. game against USC. A split in Los Angeles is not what Huskies head coach Lorenzo Romar was hoping for, but it looks pretty good right now.
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