ONE-TWO PUNCH UCLA'S SEASON LIVES AFTER STUNNING UPSET OF NO. 1 ARIZONA UCLA 96, ARIZONA 89.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

It was a meaningless rebound, the last shot of a game already decided, but UCLA guard Ray Young raced over to grab the basketball away from a couple of Arizona players and cradled it in his arms.

As the buzzer sounded, he pumped his fist, skipped toward midcourt and was embraced by reserve Marcedes Lewis before being swarmed by the rest of his teammates.

They formed a circle, hugged, laughed and sighed like they haven't all season. Against all expectations - perhaps even their own - and all odds, they were alive.

The Bruins kept breathing with a 96-89 overtime upset of top-ranked Arizona in the first round of the Pacific-10 Conference tournament at Staples Center on Thursday, not only prolonging their season and the careers of Young and fellow senior Jason Kapono but also that of coach Steve Lavin, who was expecting to be fired today.

Instead of a pink slip, Lavin received bear hugs from athletic director Dan Guerrero - the first of the season - and Chancellor Albert Carnesale before he could leave the court. For their part, the Bruins received a semifinal berth tonight at 6:15 against Oregon.

If the Bruins, whose three-game win streak is the longest of the season, can win twice more they'll be headed to the NCAA Tournament.

``We're looking at this opportunity as a gift,'' Lavin said. ``Obviously, I'm all in favor of having a Pac-10 tournament.''

That UCLA is playing a team that walloped it by 31 points less than two weeks ago is of no consequence. Not after beating a team that had whipped the Bruins by a combined 71 points the two previous times they had met.

``We were confident,'' UCLA forward Andre Patterson said. ``It's hard to say that when you're 9-18 and playing the No. 1 team in the nation, but we knew we could do it.''

And, as if UCLA could do it any other way, it was with a great degree of difficulty. The Bruins rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit and sent the game into overtime only after Young's fall-away 3-pointer over 6-foot-11 Channing Frye with 4.9 seconds left in regulation.

The victory, their fourth in as many seasons against a No. 1-ranked team, was led by the two seniors. Kapono scored 26 points in 44 minutes and Young added 17, including the Bruins' final nine in regulation.

It was a team effort for one of the few times this season. Patterson had 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks; Dijon Thompson added 15 points and T.J. Cummings played his best game of the season, coming off the bench to score 18 points, grab five rebounds and block two shots.

Not that it looked like it mattered. After trailing by as many as seven in the first half, Arizona, which didn't arrive into town until Wednesday night, finally gave the impression it wanted to be here.

The Wildcats, sparked by center Frye (23 points, nine rebounds) and forward Ricky Anderson (23 points, 11 rebounds and five 3-pointers), opened the second half with a 17-4 run.

UCLA, with many of its players slouching, called timeout with 14:12 left, the Arizona crowd on its feet and cheering at a 60-45 lead.

``I'm sure some fans started to say, `Oh no, here comes another 35-point blitz,' '' Kapono said.

Kapono hit a 3-pointer coming out of the timeout and UCLA scored on its next three possessions.

``Earlier in the season, we'd let things compound, go back and forth with each other, take bad shots and go off on our own way,'' Cummings said. ``When we were down 15, we said, `Man, let's go.' It's a game of runs and we've been on the other end. We didn't have anything to lose.''

Conversely, Arizona didn't have anything to play for. Arizona has wrapped up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and coach Lute Olson, an opponent of the Pac-10 Tournament, thought three games in three days would drain his team.

The Bruins made 25 of 28 free throws, held their own on the boards (43-44) and limited Arizona to eight fast-break points. UCLA sat back in its matchup zone and watched as Arizona fired up one errant 3-pointer after another. The Wildcats (25-3) made 7 of 36 3-pointers, including one of their final 11.

Nobody was worse than Wildcats guard Jason Gardner, who was 2 for 20 from the field and 0 for 12 on 3-pointers.

``There's no way in the world we should be 10-18,'' Patterson said. ``If we played this way all year, we'd probably be 25-2, too.''

STORY LINES

One and done

With the victory over top-ranked Arizona on Thursday, UCLA has beaten No. 1 teams each of the past four years. The Bruins defeated Kansas 87-77 last year, Stanford 79-73 in 2001 and Stanford 94-93 in overtime in 2000. It was also the 10th time UCLA has defeated a No. 1 team, an NCAA record.

Gardner cut down

Arizona point guard Jason Gardner is only the second Pacific-10 Conference player to make more than 300 3-pointers in his career. But he was 0 for 12 from 3-point range and finished with just six points. It was his most 3-point attempts this season.

Do the math

How improbable was UCLA's upset of Arizona? Consider the Wildcats had beaten the Bruins by a combined 71 points in two Pac-10 meetings this season. Arizona won 87-52 at Pauley Pavilion and 106-70 exactly a month ago in Tucson.

Numbers game: 1 of 9

How Arizona fared from 3-point range in overtime, when it was outscored 14-7 by the Bruins. The Wildcats were 7 of 36 on 3-pointers for the game.

In the pink

Coach Steve Lavin received bear hugs from UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero and Chancellor Albert Carnesale after the victory. The private meeting between Lavin and Guerrero when the season ends figures to be much more formal. The victory over Arizona and even an improbable run to the NCAA Tournament won't likely keep Lavin from being fired.

ONE AND DONE

The victory over Arizona was the 10th time the Bruins have upset a No. 1 team, breaking a tie for the national record with Notre Dame. Four of those have been under coach Steve Lavin.

March 13, 2003 - UCLA 96, Arizona 89 (OT)

Jan. 12, 2002 - UCLA 87, Kansas 77

Feb. 3, 2001 - UCLA 79, Stanford 73

March 4, 2000 - UCLA 94, Stanford 93 (OT)

Dec. 1, 1986 - UCLA 89, North Carolina 84

March 9, 1980 - UCLA 77, DePaul 71

Feb. 11, 1979 - UCLA 56, Notre Dame 52

Jan. 26, 1974 - UCLA 94, Notre Dame 75

March 22, 1968 - UCLA 101, Houston 69

March 20, 1965 - UCLA 91, Michigan 80

CAPTION(S):

photo, 3 boxes

Photo:

UCLA's Ray Young, who hit a 3-pointer to force overtime, reacts near the end of UCLA's upset victory over Arizona.

Kim D. Johnson/Associated Press

Box:

(1) STORY LINES (see text)

(2) ONE AND DONE (see text)

(3) GAME RECAP