ELI GILL Senior guard Billy Knight
speeds to the hoop on his way to a game-high 32 points on Sunday.
UCLA 81 WSU 69
By Dylan Hernandez
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
With less than 14 seconds remaining in a contest where the UCLA
men’s basketball team had secured victory, Bruin guard Billy
Knight lined up along the lane as Washington State’s Milton
Riley prepared to shoot a free throw.
Sweat running down his face, Knight put his hands on his hips
and looked at the floor.
“Good game, Billy Knight!” a fan shouted from the
Pauley Pavilion stands.
Knight glanced at the general direction from which the voice
came and nodded.
For Knight, it was indeed a good game.
On the No. 14 Bruins’ ensuing possession, he hit two free
throws to give himself a career-high 32 points and help earn his
team an 81-69 win over WSU (4-8 overall, 0-4 Pacific 10) in front
of 8,834 fans. UCLA, which beat the Cougars for the second time
this season, improved to 11-3 overall and 4-0 in Pac-10 play.
Knight, who scored nine points in the final five minutes of
Sunday’s game, hit six of his nine three-point attempts
during the contest. He missed the UCLA record for most
three-pointers in a game by only one and tied the all-time mark for
most three pointers by a Bruin in Pauley Pavilion.
“Billy was outstanding tonight,” said T.J. Cummings,
who was limited to four points. “A lot of guys were
struggling shooting, but he stepped up.”
Last Friday in a win over Washington, Knight struggled too,
scoring only seven points on 3-of-10 shooting.
“I was looking for my shot too much on Friday. I was too
selfish,” Knight said. “Today, I just wanted to help my
teammates out. Because of that, I got more shots.”
And, he said, he didn’t once look up at the scoreboard to
see how many points he had.
“I jinx myself when I do that,” Knight said.
“In games that I struggle, I look up every second.”
Bruin head coach Steve Lavin said he was happy for Knight, whose
work ethic he praised. He recalled seeing Knight trudge out of the
Wooden Center gym after shooting baskets for a few hours shortly
before UCLA’s team practice last Wednesday. Knight said
he’s been shooting six hours a day, mostly at night.
“He lives in the gym,” Lavin said, smiling.
Knight’s shooting exhibition may have made Lavin smile for
a moment, but his team’s performance gave him plenty to be
concerned over.
Again, the Bruins had a team of lesser ability on the canvas,
and again, let them get on its feet and back into the game.
UCLA led by eight with nine minutes left against a Cougar team
that appeared to have nothing going for it, but went into halftime
up by only one, 39-38.
The Bruins made a quick run midway through the second half,
going ahead 53-46 with a tad over 13 minutes remaining, but
relinquished the advantage under four minutes later.
“We’re very concerned,” Lavin said when asked
if he thought his team could play the way it did against WSU and
still emerge victorious against USC this Thursday.
“USC is way in front of us in the way they’re
playing as a team. We’ve got a long, long way to go.
We’re a work in progress. If we play like we did this
weekend, it will be a long, long season for the Bruins.”
Was the game closer than it had to be?
Probably.
But was it a total disaster?
No.
The Bruins continued to spread the ball on the offensive end,
allowing nine of their players to score.
Forward Matt Barnes had another solid all-around game,
registering 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Forward Jason Kapono added 16 points and eight rebounds, and
though center Dan Gadzuric looked clumsy at times, he grabbed a
game-high 13 boards.
“(UCLA has) big-time players who make big plays,”
WSU head coach Paul Graham said. “They just had better
players at certain times in the game. Knight, we had hands in his
face and he was still making threes, and when they needed a
rebound, they pounded the glass.”