University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Washington St
UCLA Captures Another PAC-10 Win
January 06, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2001
Postgame Audio
LOS ANGELES -
UCLA shot 72 percent in the first half and built a double-digit lead it never lost, yet the Bruins could only lament their lack of killer instinct against Washington State."We were a little hesitant. We still haven't found our edge," said Earl Watson, who led four players in double figures with 16 points as UCLA beat the Cougars 75-57 Saturday.
The Bruins (7-4, 2-0 Pac-10) completed the first weekend of conference play with a sweep of the Washington schools, and have won five of their last six.
That's the only good news according to coach Steve Lavin.
"We've made some progress in certain areas, but the disappointing part of the equation is we haven't sustained our effort and execution," he said. "As a result, we're not hitting on all cylinders and there's clearly too many deficiencies to win in this conference, so we have lots of work to do."
As gloomy as Lavin appeared, the Bruins were more than good enough to extend Washington State's winless streak at Pauley Pavilion to 44 games.
The Cougars (6-5, 0-2) have never won at Pauley since the building opened during the 1965-66 season, and haven't beaten UCLA in Los Angeles since the series began in 1936-37.
"We won by 20, but we could have really put it on this team," said Matt Barnes, who added 13 points. "We didn't have any killer instinct. We've got to sustain and get that killer instinct and take the lead from 20 to 40."
The Bruins' bench outscored Washington State's reserves 34-17. They were led by Billy Knight with 14 points in 15 minutes and freshman T.J. Cummings with 11.
Washington State's Mike Bush had 16 points, his third consecutive double-figure effort in as many games since returning from academic ineligibility.
"I am frustrated and tired. You can't win against teams like this with the inexperience on our team," Bush said. "I thought I had good looks at the basket and they didn't get the ball to me enough so I could get a rhythm."
Washington State played No. 20 Southern California close for a half before losing 82-59 Thursday night, but the Cougars seemed stunned when UCLA opened the game with a full-court press.
They were forced to call a timeout on their opening possession because of the pressure.
"Inexperience is what killed us. We need a lot of work," Cougars second-year coach Paul Graham said. "When you take a young team on the road for the first time, it takes a lot out of them."
The Cougars regrouped briefly to lead by five points, but UCLA's pressure defense, combined with 72 percent shooting, helped the Bruins to a 42-24 halftime lead.
"They have great team speed and it broke our young players down because we took poor shots," Washington State's Cedric Clark said.
UCLA built the double-digit advantage with a 38-15 run after trailing by five. Making just his fourth start of the season, Knight hit three 3-pointers in the spurt that saw the Bruins reel off runs of 10 and nine consecutive points.
"That pressure really energizes everyone," Barnes said.
Washington State started the second half by outscoring UCLA 18-11, but the Cougars only got within 11.
UCLA answered with nine straight points, including five by Cummings, to go up 62-42 with 7:18 remaining. The Cougars never got within single digits in the second half.
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
