No. 23 UCLA Derails Purdue
A cool-headed freshman helped UCLA's Steve Lavin turn the tables on coaching mentor Gene Keady, who gave Lavin his first collegiate job 10 years ago.
Jason Kapono dribbled the length of the court and scored in the lane with 1.1 seconds remaining Thursday night to give the 23rd-ranked Bruins a 55-53 victory over Purdue.
"It's not fun winning when you play an ex-assistant and I especially hate losing to them," said Keady, who wore his familiar withering scowl repeatedly when the Boilermakers failed to get back on defense.
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The two coaches sat on Purdue's bench chatting during pre-game warmups.
"It's always a measuring stick when you play Coach Keady," Lavin said. "He'll give you a report card and point out your deficiencies. I was lucky to get taught by a great coach and future hall of famer."
The Bruins (8-2) escaped with a victory for the second time in a tight game. They beat Pepperdine by two points on a controversial call Tuesday night.
UCLA led by 10 points in the first half, but Purdue cut it to three by halftime. After UCLA went up by five early in the second half, neither team led by more than two points over the final 11:34.
Jerome Moiso put UCLA ahead 53-51 on a short jumper before Carson Cunningham banked in an underhanded shot to tie the game with 7.2 seconds left.
That set up Kapono's court-length dash and the freshman capped it with a 4-footer for the winning basket. He had 19 points.
"I just got free, threw my little runner and it went in," Kapono said. "I'm pretty confident in myself. I would take my gme anytime against anybody."
Maynard Lewis inbounded the ball for Purdue (8-4) over Moiso, but it hit the overhead scoreboard and the Bruins regained possession to end the game.
"We practice last-second situations all the time," Lewis said. "We just didn't execute. I used to pitch when I was young so that's why I took the ball out."
Jaraan Cornell led the Boilermakers with 14 points and Robinson added 12. Brian Cardinal had six points in his second game playing with a padded cast on his left hand to protect a broken thumb.
"We just couldn't seem to get a stop on defense and get a lead," Cornell said. "I'm very disappointed in not getting back on defense. Our whole team didn't get back and they were sending everybody on their fast break."
Four of UCLA's starters were in foul trouble, including guard Earl Watson who fouled out for the second straight game. Kapono steadied the team in Watson's absence, scoring eight of the final 11 points.
The Boilermakers shot 35 percent and were outrebounded 31-23. But UCLA committed 20 turnovers.
"I'd like to see someone play good once," Keady said. "Neither team did."
Watson committed his fifth foul on Mike Robinson, who made two free throws to put Purdue ahead 49-48 with 3:34 remaining.
Kapono countered by hitting a 3-pointer with three seconds left on the shot clock, but Cardinal scored inside to tie the game at 51.
Moiso briefly restored UCLA's lead until Cunningham scored underneath for the fifth tie of the second half.
Lavin's relationship with Keady wasn't the only reason the Boilermakers came to town. They also agreed to the away-and-home series because of John Wooden, an All-America guard at Purdue in the early 1930s. However, the 89-year-old wasn't able to attend because of the flu.
The last time the teams met UCLA defeated Purdue 67-62 in the 1980 Final Four in Indianapolis, when Lee Rose coached the Boilermakers.
UCLA leads the series 9-3 and has won seven straight.
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