With UCLA struggling to find its offensive rhythm for the
greater part of Thursday night, Jordan Farmar was doing the little
things to keep his team in the game.
In the waning moments though, his small contributions had a
monumental impact as the Bruins pulled away from Oregon State and
inched closer to an NCAA Tournament bid with a 69-61 victory.
“He really kept his composure, especially with a good
guard like (Jason) Fontenet in his face,” senior Dijon
Thompson said of Farmar.
With the Beavers (16-12, 8-9 Pac-10) having a chance to overtake
the Bruins in the conference standings, UCLA coach Ben Howland
admitted his team may have played a little too anxious at the
game’s outset. Yet when the Bruins (17-9, 10-7) appeared
dangerously close of falling to fifth place in the Pac-10, it was
their freshman point guard who played with the most poise.
“He handled all the pressure,” Howland said.
“I can’t say enough about what he did in leading the
team.”
Trailing for the better part of the game, UCLA relied on
Farmar’s ability to penetrate the Beavers’ defense and
either draw fouls or find his teammates. After tying the score at
61-61 with a pair of free throws with 2:35 remaining, Farmar drove
into the paint and dished the ball out to an open Arron Afflalo,
who sank a 3-pointer to give the Bruins a lead they would not
suzrrender.
“I was looking to be aggressive and be a point
guard,” said Farmar, who finished with a team-high 23 points
and seven assists, while committing just two turnovers. “I
was trying to read and react. I was making the right decisions and
getting more and more comfortable.”
Even though his team managed to shoot just 36.7 percent from the
field, Farmar was able to will his team to the win with clutch free
throw shooting. Oregon State committed its seventh team foul of the
second half with over 12 minutes remaining, which allowed the
Bruins to shoot 22 free throws after taking just three in the first
half. And while the perimeter jump shots may not have been falling
for UCLA, Farmar helped make up for it by sinking all eight of his
free throws.
“Their guards are really aggressive,” Farmar said.
“You can get easy fouls and the refs did a good job calling
hand checks. We got the foul count up and once we were in the
bonus, I looked to be aggressive at all times.”
In the teams’ first meeting, Farmar’s aggression
resulted in rushed shots and nine turnovers. Yet on Thursday, he
forced the defense to collapse on him and rarely made a poor
decision.
“I love how he’s jump-stopping and playing with the
defense,” Howland said. “He had so many good passes
tonight. He’s getting better and better.”
That growth was evident on the defensive end as well on
Thursday. Farmar pulled down seven rebounds, tying his career high
and none was more important than the one where he skied over three
Beavers after Fontenet’s miss with 43 seconds left to seal
the win.
As Farmar continues to improve, so do the Bruins’
tournament prospects. With UCLA’s win and Stanford’s
loss on Thursday, the Bruins can claim sole possession of third
place in the conference if the same results occur on Saturday.
“We’re getting closer and closer,” Thompson
said. “We just got to take care of business on
Saturday.”