Oregon State
UCLA
Beavers Fall To UCLA, 68-65, In OT
February 24, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2001
By LANDON HALL
AP Sports Writer
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) - Earl Watson put No. 15 UCLA in trouble at the free throw line, then shot them out of it at the same stripe.
Watson scored 20 points and hit three of four free throws in the last 23.3 seconds of overtime as the Bruins defeated Oregon State 68-65 Saturday for their seventh straight win.
Watson missed three straight foul shots in the last minute of regulation that could have put the game away, and he was hoping he didn't cost his team a victory.
"I was really disappointed I missed those free throws," he said. "I couldn't wait for that second chance."
Billy Knight added 16 points, including a big 3-pointer in the extra period, and Dan Gadzuric had 15 for the Bruins (19-6, 12-2 Pac-10), who continued their push to be a strong No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
"It's good to get a win like that," Knight said. "It's going to help us later on in the tournament."
Jason Heide scored 19 points to lead the Beavers (10-17, 4-11). Brian Jackson had 16.
Knight's 3-pointer gave the Bruins a 64-60 lead with 49.6 seconds left in overtime. Oregon State's Jimmie Haywood responded with a 3-pointer, but Watson hit two free throws for a 66-63 lead with 23.3 seconds left.
Oregon State had a final chance to tie with 11.1 seconds left, but Jackson's 3-pointer was short.
"It's as big as any other win," Gadzuric said.
"I'm proud of our kids' ability to find a way to grind out a win in overtime," UCLA coach Steve Lavin said.
The Bruins were just 12-of-22 from the line, the Beavers were 9-of-19.
"We had a chance to win it down the stretch, but we didn't knock down free throws," Oregon State coach Ritchie McKay said.
Lavin was so angry at the second-half calls that went against his team, especially those made by referee Craig Grismore, that the coach motioned several times to Lou Campanelli, the Pac-10 coordinator of officiating - who was sitting nine rows behind the scorers' table - and pleaded for Grismore to be thrown out of the league.
At least three times Lavin made a throat-cutting gesture, looking up at Campanelli and yelling, "Get him out of here!" Lavin was not assessed a technical foul.
"I cannot believe this guy," Lavin said after Gadzuric fouled Jackson late in the game. "He's the worst official in the country."
UCLA beat Oregon State for the 15th time in 16 games, but the Beavers easily could have pulled off the upset.
The Beavers led by eight with 8:18 left, but went the rest of regulation without making a basket. An awkward, leaning jumper by Watson put UCLA ahead 57-56. At the other end, Jackson went baseline and was fouled by Gadzuric, but Jackson made only one of two shots with 18.5 seconds left and Gadzuric's airball sent the game to overtime.
There were eight lead changes in the first half, but Oregon State - confident after upsetting Southern California on Thursday night - surged ahead with a 12-2 run. Haywood had seven points, including a putback on a missed layup by Deaundra Tanner on the fast break that gave the Beavers a 30-23 lead.
"They basically ran a clinic for the first 20 minutes," Lavin said.
Mike Cokley, a 5-foot-8 guard who probably wouldn't be playing at all this season except for a series of injuries to the Beavers, had a terrific first half without scoring a point. Not only did he have to guard Watson, but he took a charge from Barnes and had two assists.
A transition layup by Haywood on a pass from Cokley put the Beavers ahead 33-25 at halftime. Oregon State shot 58 percent in the half.
UCLA scored the first six points on the second half and the game was close the rest of the way. Oregon State got its eight-point lead back when Tanner and Adam Masten hit consecutive 3-pointers to make it 52-44 with 8:18 to go.
