AFFLALO'S THE MAN HE DEMANDS BALL, BEATS 'SC WITH LATE 14-FOOTER.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer

A week ago, with tears running down his cheek and seething anger, UCLA guard Arron Afflalo vowed the next time a winning shot was needed at the end of a game, it would come from his right hand.

Now, everyone knows why.

Afflalo's hanging 14-footer with 4.7 seconds remaining capped a crazy final minute in which the Bruins blew a six-point lead, then got the winning basket from their biggest star as No. 4 UCLA beat archrival USC 65-64 Saturday in front of a crowd of 9,682 at Galen Center.

``This definitely makes me feel better,'' Afflalo said. ``The past is the past, and we're moving forward now. Losing never leaves you until your next win.''

When the Bruins' lost a week ago at Oregon, Afflalo never got a chance to take the winning shot at the buzzer. He spoke about that moments after the game and reiterated it during the week.

``People asked me what the pressure was like, knowing you made the comments last weekend,'' Afflalo said. ``The very next (game) you're in that situation, and I did feel that pressure a little bit. But once the ball got in my hands, everything else just calmed down.''

Afflalo's shot came after Nick Young's four-point play with 22.9 seconds left gave the Trojans a 64-63 lead and after Afflalo passed up a shot the first time he touched the ball on UCLA's next possession.

Once Afflalo got the ball again, along the right wing, he drove left, stopped near the elbow of the foul line and hung in the air just long enough to lose defender Lodrick Stewart before releasing the shot.

``We didn't want to shoot it quite that late,'' UCLA coach Ben Howland said. ``We wanted to shoot it a little earlier, but it worked out. He created his own shot. You have to give him credit. That was him creating a shot, where he leaned back. It was a great shot. He wanted it.''

The Bruins (15-1, 4-1 Pac-10) won despite the absence of their second- leading scorer, Josh Shipp, who has a strained right hamstring.

Darren Collison scored a career-high 17 points to lead UCLA. Afflalo scored 13 of his 15points in the second half, and Lorenzo Mata added 12 points and eight rebounds.

USC (13-5, 3-2) was led in scoring by Young's 14 points. Taj Gibson scored nine points, marking only the third time he has failed to reach double figures.

The Trojans were left lamenting missing the front ends of three straight 1-and-1 opportunities in the final 5:26. USC was 7of14 from the free-throw line.

``A game like that comes down to easy baskets,'' USC coach Tim Floyd said. ``And look at the foul line. That was a problem for us this game.''

Afflalo's shot came at the end of a dizzying final minute in which the Bruins, who trailed by 10 points with 11 minutes remaining, appeared to put the game away when Mata grabbed Collison's miss and scored with 51 seconds to play to put UCLA ahead 63-57.

Gabe Pruitt made a 3-pointer on USC's next possession, and Mata's free-throw woes gave the Trojans a chance. Mata, a 32percent free-throw shooter, was fouled away from the ball with 34.3 seconds remaining and promptly missed both shots.

``I didn't have any legs with them,'' Mata said. ``I didn't feel any pressure. I thought I was going to make both, but they were short.''

With a chance to tie, the Trojans did more. Young was fouled by Collison while shooting a 3-pointer in the right corner. Not only did Young make the shot, but after a timeout, he gave the Trojans a 64-63 lead with the ensuing free throw.

``I thought it wasn't a great call, but that's always going to be my perspective,'' Collison said. ``Nick hit the big shot, and Arron told us to calm down, like the leader he is. If Arron didn't make it, I'd be feeling a lot different. But he made the shot, so we're moving on.''

Howland took the blame for the Oregon ending during a meeting with Afflalo earlier in the day, then made sure Afflalo would get a chance against USC by designing a play to get the ball in the hands of his best player.

``Me and his hand actually touched,'' said Stewart, the defender. ``He made a big shot. Big players make big shots. Nick made a big shot. Gabe made a big shot. He just made the last one.''

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) UCLA's Arron Afflalo elevates to take the winning shot over USC's Lodrick Stewart in the final seconds Saturday.

(2) USC's Daniel Hackett reacts to a foul call during Saturday's game.

(3) UCLA's Darren Collison dishes off a pass while being defended by USC's Lodrick Stewart.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer