SEATTLE – As Washington’s Brandon Roy soared through the air in an attempt to block a last-second 3-point shot by UCLA’s Jordan Farmar, visions of Stanford danced through the heads of the sold-out crowd at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Three weeks ago, a foul on a last-second 3-point shot by a Cardinal player helped send the game into overtime, and Stanford defeated Washington in perhaps the most heartbreaking loss of the last three seasons.
Roy said he didn’t consider that, at least until after Saturday’s Pacific-10 Conference game.
Instead, the Washington star tipped Farmar’s shot cleanly. The No. 21 Huskies got the rebound, holding on after a wild final 10 minutes, to defeat No. 13 UCLA 70-67.
With the victory, Washington (7-5 Pac-10, 18-5 overall), moved three games behind first-place UCLA (10-3, 20-5) with six games left, and two games behind second-place California.
It was Washington’s first regular-season sweep of the Bruins since 1987 and the Huskies have a three-game winning streak over UCLA for the first time since 1952.
Roy’s blocked shot may have been the only close play that was not called a foul during the game. The teams were called for 54 fouls (27 each) and shot 60 free throws in a physical game that saw three players foul out and seven others pick up four fouls.
One of those was Roy, who had a tough time shooting (3-for-11) but led all scorers with 20 points by making 13 of 16 free throws.
Roy was more valuable as a playmaker (seven assists) and defender on Farmar, UCLA’s standout sophomore point guard.
Farmar finished with seven turnovers and 13 points, but made just 2 of 13 shots, including 1-for-8 on 3-pointers. The last 3-point attempt had the arena holding its breath waiting for a whistle that never came.
“I just timed it,” Roy said of the blocked shot. “I wasn’t going to go for it when it was in his hand, I was going for it when it left it. It was risky. I didn’t think about (Stanford). I thought it was a good play. But I thought about it after the game.”
Roy’s blocked shot ended a tight game that saw nine lead changes and three ties in the last 9:48 of the game. In that time, neither team led by more than four points, and the largest lead all game was eight.
The Huskies entered the week on a three-game losing streak but wins over USC and UCLA may have put Washington back on track for an NCAA Tournament berth.
“After a three-game losing streak, to come out and beat the conference leader is going to take our confidence a long way,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. “UCLA is not some underachieving team without talent and all they have is to play hard. They play hard as if that’s all they have. But yet they have talent, and that’s a great combination.”
“Washington has a chance to really go a long way,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “If anyone is questioning the level of play in the Pac-10, they should watch this game because we are good, we have a good team. They beat us here on their home floor. It was a great win for them.”
Washington forced 20 turnovers, including 14 in the first half, and held the Bruins to 42.3 percent shooting. It was only the third time this season that UCLA turned the ball over 20 times, and it led to 24 UW points.
Romar credited Roy for helping disrupt the Bruins’ offense.
“When we needed him to defend and put the clamps on the best play-maker (Farmar) in the league, and one of the best play-makers in the country, he stepped up,” Romar said.
Farmar said it was a team effort, combined with two sore ankles, that combined to slow him down.
“It’s tough because all the other guys have their eye on me,” he said. “You can’t sneak anywhere. If I do beat (Roy), he’s going to recover and there’s always somebody coming up. They do a good job of getting in the passing lanes so you can’t make the normal pass.”
Washington now has a chance to continue its late-season move up the standings when it travels to Oregon and Oregon State next week.
“We can’t say our backs are off the wall now and we can relax,” Roy said. “Oregon’s a tough team, that’s a tough place to win for us. I still feel like our backs are against the wall.”
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