March 4, 2000
By ROB GLOSTER
AP Sports Writer
STANFORD, Calif. - A wild and controversial UCLA upset of top-rankedStanford ended with Bruins coach Steve Lavin hugging a referee and shirtlessUCLA players running back and forth to the locker room in dismay and thencelebration.
JaRon Rush, playing his first game after a nine-game suspension, hit adisputed baseline jumper with 3 seconds remaining in overtime as UCLA defeatedStanford 94-93 on Saturday in a game that left both teams confused andexhausted.
Rush, who scored 19 points to lead the Bruins, grabbed a loose ball underthe UCLA basket after a wild scrum during which the shot clock appeared toexpire. Stanford's Michael McDonald then missed a desperate halfcourt shot, andUCLA ran to its locker room in celebration.
The Bruins, some without their shirts, were called back to the court asreferees reviewed their decision and Stanford players began to celebrate. Butthe referees determined a shot by Ray Young earlier in UCLA's possession hadscraped the rim, meaning the 35-second shot clock should have been reset andhadn't run out.
Lavin said the ending echoed the Soviet Union's infamous victory over theUnited States in the 1972 Munich Olympics, a game the Americans thought theyhad won until officials called them back on the floor and the Soviets scored awinning basket.
"I wanted to get us off the floor right away and get out of there, and nothave another '72 Olympics," Lavin said.
Rush had no idea how much time was left on the clock when he threw up thewinning shot.
"I just knew I had to get the ball off. I was lucky it went in," he saidin the joyous UCLA locker room.
The defeat ended a 13-game winning streak during which the Cardinal (25-2,14-2 Pac-10) won every game by a double-digit margin. Stanford had won itsprevious five by an average of 36.4 points.
"We haven't been in a close game for a long time and we kind of loosenedup, we made some bad mental mistakes," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said."The shot clock did go off. With the noise, nobody heard it. But they reviewedthe play and the previous shot had grazed the rim. End of game, end of story."
UCLA (17-11, 8-8) broke a five-game losing streak to the Cardinal and got asignificant boost in its bid for a berth in the NCAA tournament.
The Bruins, who already have clinched their NCAA-record 52nd consecutivewinning season, tied a school record for 3-pointers set earlier this season byhitting 12 against Stanford and shooting 55 percent against a Cardinal teamthat came into the game leading the nation by allowing opponents only 34percent shooting.
Rush, who had been suspended for the previous nine games because of benefitshe received from an AAU coach while in high school in Kansas City, was playinghis first game since Dec. 1.
Rush originally was suspended for 29 games, but the NCAA reduced the lengthof the penalty last Monday after an appeal by UCLA. Rush also served a 15-gamesuspension this season for accepting $200 from an agent last season.
"He seemed like he was able to get into the flow pretty quickly," Lavinsaid. "This game gives you an idea of what kind of an impact he has."
In overtime, David Moseley hit a 3-pointer with 1:27 left to give Stanford a92-89 lead. Jarron Collins added one of two free throws with 54 seconds left togive the Cardinal a four-point margin.
Rush hit a 3-pointer from two feet beyond the top of the key with 42 secondsleft and Stanford was called for a five-second violation when it could notinbound the ball. That led to the final, and decisive, UCLA possession.
Moseley said the Cardinal, who pride themselves on being one of the nation'smost composed teams, were stunned when Rush hit the long 3-pointer to pull UCLAwithin one.
"We kind of lost our composure when Rush hit the 3. We kind of went 'Ooh,that hurt us.' We just kind of forgot what we were doing," Moseley said. "Wejust got frazzled near the end."
McDonald hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining in regulation to giveStanford an 80-78 lead, the 16th lead change of the second half. Jerome Moiso,who scored eight points in the final 3:34 of regulation, hit a short turnaroundjumper at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Moiso had 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks before fouling out inovertime. Earl Watson had 15 points and 13 assists for the Bruins while playingall 45 minutes.
Moseley had 22 points, Casey Jacobsen 19 and Mark Madsen 17 for Stanford.
UCLA, which went 0-for-14 on 3-pointers in a 78-63 loss at home to Stanfordin early February, was 12-of-23 from behind the arc Saturday - including eight3-pointers in the first half.
Stanford opened the game with a 12-0 run that included seven points byJacobsen. UCLA, which had four early turnovers, did not score in the game'sopening 2:41. The Cardinal were leading 18-4 when Rush made his firstappearance, and the Bruins responded with a 10-1 run.
With Rush moving in and out of the lineup, UCLA moved outside and startedhitting 3-pointers. Jason Kapono's 3 tied the game at 27 with 6:36 remaining inthe half, and Billy Knight hit another 3 to tie it at 36 with 3:18 left.
Stanford rebuilt its lead to 43-38, but Knight hit a 3 from the corner infront of the Cardinal bench as time expired in the first half to pull UCLAwithin 43-41.