Watch CBS News

Washington Rallies To Beat UCLA, 71-69

SEATTLE (AP) -- Terrence Ross scored 10 of Washington's final 12 points to finish with 22, and the Huskies overcame a 10-point deficit with seven minutes remaining to stun UCLA 71-69 on Thursday night.

Ross' 3-pointer from the wing with 1:20 remaining turned out to be the game-winner, but the Huskies (15-7, 8-2 Pac-12) had to watch Norman Powell's baseline jumper with 3 seconds left hang on the rim and fall off before celebrating their fourth straight win over the Bruins.

Ross scored 18 points in the second half and made 9 of 12 shots overall. Tony Wroten added 13 points and Darnell Gant had 12 for the Huskies, who retained at least a share of the conference lead.

Josh Smith scored a career-high 24 points for UCLA (12-10, 5-5), but had just three points in the final 12 minutes.

Lazeric Jones, the Bruins' leading scorer entering the night, missed his first six shots and was scoreless at halftime, but scored 11 in the second half. But Jones and his teammates could not stop the Huskies' late rally after taking a 63-53 lead on Travis Wear's jumper with 7:01 left.

The Bruins got shaky and careless as the Huskies started to fluster UCLA's offense. Ross and C.J. Wilcox combined for six straight points at the free-throw line, and Ross' pull-up 18-footer got Washington within 65-61 with 4:38 left. Ross then hit an open 3-pointer off a screen following an offensive foul by UCLA, and the deficit was 65-64. The Huskies missed a chance to take the lead when Gant's 3-pointer went halfway down and came out, but another offensive foul -- this one ending Tyler Lamb's night -- gave the Huskies another chance to go ahead.

This time Ross converted with an acrobatic spin and scoop in the lane while being fouled to give Washington the lead. Another UCLA turnover led to Gant's dunk, and the Huskies led 68-65 with 2:05 left.

David Ware scored on a 15-footer with 1:40 left, the Bruins' first field goal in nearly six minutes, but Ross answered with another 3 to push the Huskies' lead to four. Smith scored on the interior while being fouled with 56 seconds left but missed the free throw.

Ross got one more chance to clinch the victory, but his shot rimmed out. Without calling a timeout, UCLA worked the ball around the perimeter until Powell -- who finished with two points -- drove to the baseline and got an open look. His shot bounded around the rim, hung and fell off and the horn sounded during the scramble.

It was a stunning conclusion after UCLA had played so well for the first 33 minutes. The Bruins were outscored 18-6 during the closing stretch, including a 13-0 Washington run.

With 15 minutes left, Smith had already matched his career high of 19 when he corralled a loose ball and scored under the basket. Jerime Anderson followed with an open 3-pointer, and after Wroten blew an open layup, Jones' two free throws pushed the Bruins' lead to 47-44. Smith and Tyler Lamb later scored on consecutive possessions, and another 3 by Anderson out of a timeout gave UCLA its largest lead to that point, 54-47 with 11:21 left. Jones later hit another set of 3s as the UCLA lead kept growing.

But as he's done previously during conference play, Ross came alive late. He hit four of his final five shots to give Washington coach Lorenzo Romar a victory in his 500th career game.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.