CASE CLOSED! UCLA BELONGS SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN BUILDS MOMENTUM UCLA 90, WASHINGTON 64.Byline: Jon Wilner Staff Writer The last time this happened, Ed O'Bannon Edward Charles O'Bannon, Jr. (born August 14, 1972 in Los Angeles, California) is a former basketball player, who was a star small forward for the UCLA Bruins, where he was known as "Ed-O," but had a less-than-illustrious career as a professional basketball player. kissed the court. The last time the UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I-A as part of the Pacific Ten Conference. Athletic alumni Jackie Robinson, Rafer Johnson, Yang Chuan-kwang (C.K. finished their season in such impressive fashion, they were ranked No. 1 and steaming toward the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association title. That's not to say these Bruins will duplicate the 1995 tournament charge. (They weren't guaranteed a bid until this week, after all.) But Saturday's performance surely did more for confidence and momentum than the four previous season finales - two narrow victories over Washington State and two losses to Arizona. ``Ending like this definitely gives us momentum for the tournament,'' guard Earl Watson Earl Joseph Watson Jr. (born June 12, 1979 in Kansas City, Kansas) is an American professional basketball player currently with the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA. A 6'1", 195 lbs. said after UCLA's 90-64 victory over Washington in front of 10,305 at Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, informally and commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, California. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The men's and women's volleyball teams also play here. . ``But we can't use that momentum as arrogance, or we'll get beat in the first round. We still have a lot to prove. We don't want to lose in the first round and have people say we shouldn't have been there.'' The Bruins' case for a tournament berth is now airtight. They've won six consecutive games. They've beaten a tournament-bound team at home (Oregon). They've beaten the No. 1 team on the road (Stanford). All their weapons are healthy and eligible, and their closing argument Saturday was devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. . ``They did what you always talk about - they played their way in,'' Washington coach Bob Bender Robert Michael "Bob" Bender (born April 28, 1957 in Quantico, Virginia) is a basketball coach, an assistant with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. Bender has been with Atlanta for three seasons as an assistant coach, following two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. said. ``They're a tournament team, and I wouldn't want to play them coming in on a roll like this.'' The one thing the Bruins haven't established is consistency. They were brilliant at Stanford, then sluggish and sloppy in a close call Thursday against last-place Washington State. But they didn't practice Friday, and by tipoff their legs had returned. Everything looked easy. Everyone looked fresh. Watson had six assists against three turnovers. Senior Sean Farnham got a basket in his home finale. Dan Gadzuric Dan Gadzuric (Gadžurić in Serbian, pronounced /ɠɑːdʒʊɹitʃ/ (born February 2, 1978 in The Hague) is a Dutch professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA. and Jerome Moiso dominated despite limited minutes. Reserve forward Matt Barnes Matt Kelly Barnes (born March 9 1980 in Santa Clara, California) is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Golden State Warriors. High school years played well for the third consecutive game. And freshman forward Jason Kapono Jason Alan Kapono (born February 2 1981 in Long Beach, California) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA, currently with the Toronto Raptors.[1] His previous team was the Miami Heat in 2006-07. , who doesn't usually have much spring, elevated for his first dunk of the season. ``We've got our legs back under us,'' said forward JaRon Rush, who scored 15 points in 15 minutes. ``Thank God we had a day off. It showed.'' Rush typified UCLA's inconsistent weekend. He made 2 of 5 shots Thursday night and was too tired to dunk. Saturday, he singlehandedly changed the game with 11 points in four minutes midway through the first half. His final basket, a 3-pointer from the left wing, gave the Bruins a 27-20 lead. Two minutes later, Moiso and Kapono combined for 11 consecutive points as the advantage expanded to 39-20. Next stop: Selection Sunday. ``Our goal was to try to win five of six games (to get in the tournament),'' Lavin said. ``It's nice to win six of six, and seven of 10. If you eliminate the blitzkriegs in the desert (losses to the Arizona schools), it's been eight solid games.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) UCLA's Ray Young shoots over Washington's Marlon Shelton on Saturday during the Bruins' 90-64 win. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer (2) Sean Farnham, UCLA's lone senior, gets the fans on their feet after sinking a basket in his final game at Pauley Pavilion. (3) Bruins guard Ryan Bailey swipes the ball from Washington's Greg Clark (21). Box: SATURDAY'S NCAA QUALIFIERS |
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