A Bruin Breeze Brings Clouds

It was so quiet on the UCLA bench Thursday afternoon, you could hear the chances of Bruin success in the NCAA tournament drop.

On the court at Staples Center, UCLA was barely working up a sweat in the quarterfinals of the Pacific 10 Conference men’s basketball tournament. Ahead of Oregon State by 11 points with just under six minutes to go in the first half, the Bruins would win on cruise control, 79-47, the largest margin of victory in tournament history.

But all eyes at that moment were on the crumpled figure beyond the baseline, stretched out by a press table.

Fifth-year senior Cedric Bozeman, who has already come back from one serious injury this season to provide an important presence on the wing, finally limped off the court with assistance and was later diagnosed with a sprained left ankle. X-rays were negative and his availability for today’s semifinal game against Arizona will be a game-time decision.

“I’m thinking realistically,” Bozeman said after the game. “But I’m planning on playing. I want to help the team win and I can’t do that from the bench.”

Bozeman’s injury emphasized the high-risk, low-yield nature of this event. The 13th-ranked Bruins (25-6), having already won the conference title, can gain little from winning this tournament other than perhaps a slight improvement in their seeding for next week’s NCAA event. But if they were to lose a key player like Bozeman, their seeding might mean little.

There seemed little chance the Beavers (13-18, including two previous losses to UCLA) could upset the Bruins after losing their third key player in Wednesday’s opening-round game. Forward Sasa Cuic, Oregon State’s leading scorer, suffered a sprained ankle against Arizona State, forcing him to join forward Nick DeWitz (shoulder injury) and guard Lamar Hurd (groin) on the bench.

Forward Marcel Jones assumed the scoring load, getting a game-high 19 points, but no other Beaver could do much against UCLA’s stifling defense. Oregon State shot 32.1% from the field, including 25% in the second half, to finish with the second-lowest point total in tournament history.

The Bruins shot 52.8%, including a season-high 62.5% (10 for 16) from three-point range.

For UCLA, facing games on three straight days if it wins today, it was an opportunity to rest its starters and spread out the minutes. Guards Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo, both averaging 30-plus minutes, received extra bench time Thursday, Afflalo playing 23 minutes, Farmar 22.

Senior center Ryan Hollins led the team in scoring for the first time this season, getting a career-high 17 points (six for eight shooting) along with a game-high eight rebounds. Afflalo scored 16.

“I’m just trying to be active,” Hollins said. “It definitely feels good to help. I’m not trying to get too far ahead of myself and think I’m the star of this team. I’m just trying to play within myself.”

It was also a big game for another UCLA center, Lorenzo Mata, whose most important accomplishment was just getting into the game after sitting out for nearly two months because of a broken leg.

Mata’s appearance was such a late decision that his uniform had not even been brought to Staples Center. A team manager had to go back to Westwood to get it.

When Mata entered the game late in the second half, he received a standing ovation.

“I thought I was at a Laker game,” he said of the cheers.

Bozeman’s exit from the game occurred after he fed Afflalo, who appeared to have a layup but instead tossed the ball back to Bozeman.

“It came at the last second after I was already too far under the basket,” Bozeman said. “There was a lot of clutter on the baseline. Trying to avoid the cheerleaders, I stepped on a cameraman.”

UCLA Coach Ben Howland said he wouldn’t even consider resting Bozeman for next week.

“If he’s ready, he goes,” Howland said. “We want to win this tournament.”