UCLA Survives Scrap With Indiana

UCLA 54, Indiana 49

Indiana's D.J. White reaches in to block a shot by UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (23) during the second round of the NCAA West Regional basketball tournament at Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif., Saturday, March 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) (Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP)

SACRAMENTO, March 17 -- UCLA Coach Ben Howland bounced frantically in front of his team's bench, weight on the balls of his feet, eyes wide as dinner plates, arms outstretched.

With his team leading Indiana by two points with 30 seconds left in the game, Howland contorted in his dark, pinstriped suit, and mimicked exactly what he wanted to see from his Bruins on the floor. He demanded the second-seeded Bruins not allow the seventh-seeded Hoosiers the chance to create more problems.

And with that, UCLA guard Darren Collison stole Lance Stemler's inbounds pass with 30 seconds left to seal a 54-49 victory in the second round of the West Region of the NCAA tournament.

UCLA advanced to a round-of-16 game against third-seeded Pittsburgh, though it needed last-second heroics after wasting a 16-point second-half lead.

After scoring just 13 points in the first half, Indiana clawed back during the final 13 minutes of the game.

Guard Earl Calloway tied the score at 49 with just less than a minute left, driving to the basket and around the flailing arms of 6-foot-9 UCLA center Lorenzo Mata. But Bruins guard Arron Afflalo drew a foul and made two free throws with 38 seconds left before Collison stole Stemler's pass.

"That was key," Afflalo said. "That was good to see bench involved, everybody exerting a lot of energy and understanding the importance of that play."

After UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute tipped away Indiana's first attempt at an inbounds pass, referees moved Stemler to the sideline, just a few feet front the UCLA bench.

The Bruins' reserves yelled and screamed at Stemler as he tried to get the ball in.

"We were all screaming in his ear," said Howland, the former Pitt coach who will next face Jamie Dixon, his former assistant and current coach of the Panthers.

Collison scored a team-high 15 points, Afflalo scored 10 and the Bruins won despite shooting just 36.2 percent from the field.

D.J. White led Indiana with 12 points and 14 rebounds while Calloway scored 12.

The game was hyped as a meeting of college basketball's dignified bluebloods, two tradition-laden programs facing off in the NCAA tournament. But, lore aside, UCLA and Indiana delivered what was expected -- 40 minutes of basketball that was only slightly less physical than a sidewalk mugging.

By halftime, the score was low even for football standards: UCLA 20, Indiana 13.

UCLA's starting five combined to shoot 4 of 20 during the first half and the Bruins finished shooting 27 percent. But it was enough because the Hoosiers managed a feeble 18 percent from the field. The Bruins harassed White each time he touched the ball.

"It was hard to get an open look," said Indiana Coach Kelvin Sampson, who watched the exchange of shoulder bumps and jersey tugs. "Both teams were guarding so well."