STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- 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.
|  | | Stanford guard Casey Jacobsen suffered through a 4-for-18 performance in Saturday's upset. |
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.
"I was surprised how open I was. They just lost me," Knight
said. "But we have a lot of great shooters, and they were more
worried about Kapono and Watson."
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 Southern 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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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
UCLA Clubhouse
Stanford Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 UCLA's Earl Watson lands hard after getting the reverse to drop.
avi: 1708 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Stanford's Casey Jacobsen squares up for the three-point bomb from downtown.
avi: 1121 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
UCLA's Dan Gadzuric throws down the alley-oop from Earl Watson.
avi: 820 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jarron Collins takes the pass from Justin Davis and slams it down for the Cardinal.
avi: 598 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Earl Watson breaks down the Stanford defense on the drive to the hoop.
avi: 685 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Steve Lavin talks about the Bruins' win over No. 1 Stanford.
wav: 127 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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