Bruins Bounce No. 1 Stanford
This time, UCLA's players waited until they reached the locker room to rip off their shirts and celebrate an upset of top-ranked Stanford.
Surprise starter Billy Knight had a career-high 22 points and the Bruins used an 11-0 run midway through the second half to win 79-73 Saturday, the second straight season UCLA has come to Stanford and defeated the No. 1 team.
Stanford, the nation's last unbeaten team, had its school-record 20-game winning streak snapped.
"I think Stanford caught us at a tough time. Our kids were a little salty. They had a hard edge," said UCLA coach Steve Lavin, whose team lost by 29 points two days earlier at California.
Earl Watson added 20 points and Jason Kapono had 14 points and nine rebounds for UCLA (13-6, 7-2 Pac-10), which defeated the top-ranked Cardinal 94-93 in overtime last year at Stanford.
Knight, making just his fifth start of the season, went 8-of-15 from the field including 3-for-7 from behind the 3-point line. He started in place of Jason Flowers, who was healthy but never entered the game.
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Casey Jacobsen had 17 points on 4-for-18 shooting and Michael McDonald had 15 for Stanford (20-1, 8-1), which had been defeating opponents by an average of 30 points on its home court this season.
"We're in a bit of a valley right now," said Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. "We didn't have the energy UCLA had. We weren't good enough today. UCLA was clearly the aggressor out there, and shot the ball very well."
The Bruins shot 50 percent from the field, matching the shooting percentage by Southen California in its 77-71 loss at Stanford on Thursday night. Until this week, the Cardinal had allowed no opponent to shoot 50 percent or better this season.
Last season, the Bruins' wild upset win at Stanford ended with shirtless UCLA players running back onto the court as officials watched videotape before ultimately counting a last-second shot and giving the win to the Bruins.
UCLA guard Ray Young said this year's upset was even better than last year's.
"Both wins were big, but this one was a little sweeter because it was an undefeated team and we had just lost to Cal," he said. "We came here with an attitude that we needed this win because we were embarrassed at Cal's place."
The game also marked the first time Stanford has lost when twins Jarron and Jason Collins have started for the Cardinal.
The Bruins led by three at halftime, and Knight had eight points during a 10-2 run as UCLA built its lead to 50-41 with 17:24 remaining. But UCLA then went five minutes without a basket, and let Stanford back in the game.
The rally began with Cardinal center Jason Collins, slowed by the flu and forced out by his fourth foul, watching from the bench. With a smaller lineup, Stanford scored 10 straight points including consecutive 3s by Jacobsen.
Stanford took its first lead, 53-52, since midway through the first half on Jarron Collins' slam with 11:58 left. Knight responded with a long 3-pointer as the 35-second clock was expiring, and Justin Davis had a dunk for Stanford, making it 55-55 with 10:11 left.
UCLA then scored 11 straight points, including a 3-pointer by Kapono and a three-point play by Watson following a steal. The Bruins led 66-55 with 7:45 left.
Stanford still trailed by nine points with 2:39 left, but hit five consecutive free throws, pulling within 72-68 with 92 seconds remaining.
Watson hit a pair of foul shots with a minute left, and Stanford got no closer than three points the rest of the game.
UCLA used pressure defense and pinpoint outside shooting to take a 40-37 halftime lead after leading by as many as nine points late in the first half. The Bruins forced usually sure-handed Stanford into eight turnovers, and only 1-for-7 shooting on 3-pointers, before halftime. The Bruins were 4-for-8 on 3-pointers in the half.
"We didn't handle the press as well as we needed to," Montgomery said. "That's the best pressure we've seen all year. They were going at a pace we couldn't play."
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