UCLA UCLA/Washington State Wash. St. Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

Trailing throughout most of the first half in Friel Court, the Bruins kept their cool and Jason Kapono scored 28 points as UCLA came back to beat Washington State 86-76 Thursday night.

The Cougars have lost to UCLA 17 straight times, dating to Dec. 19, 1986.

But this one was different, Bruins coach Steve Lavin said.

"It could have been a blowout (by WSU), but we did a good job of keeping our poise and scratching our way back in the game," Lavin said. "We were fortunate to come back."

The Bruins (21-7, 13-2 Pac-10) tied the score at halftime and went on a 16-2 run down the stretch. Washington State (12-15, 5-12 Pac-10 Conference) built an 11-point lead in the first half, but lost it to strong inside play and full-court pressure by the Bruins.

The game was tied six times in the second half, but Kapono hit a jumper and a free throw to break a tie at 71 with about four minutes left.

Washington State jumped to a 5-0 lead. The Bruins tied it with a 3-pointer from Kapono and a tip-in by Dan Gadzuric.

"We had a great team game," Kapono said. "Even though we played a little sloppy, we don't get frustrated and we don't fold."

The Bruins hope to beat Washington on Saturday to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee, a fact that didn't escape Cougars coach Paul Graham.

"They have a good team that's trying to get into the NCAA Tournament," Graham said. "We know we have to play hard to beat them."

WSU broke a 7-7 tie, only to see the Bruins storm back to tie it when Billy Knight hit a shot at the buzzer, making it 40-40. UCLA went on an 18-11 scoring streak in the final seven minutes of the half.

Knight and fellow guard Earl Watson each had 13 points.

The Cougars led most of the first half on 3-pointers by substitute Jerry McNair. McNair had 11 points in the half, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range.

Marcus Moore, who scored 19 for Washington State, was impressed with the Bruins' full-court pressure.

"They were executing and we just got tired," he said. "I was dead tired from constantly dribbling and trying to break the press."

The Bruins battled back from a 29-18 deficit with 3-pointers from Knight and aggressive inside play by center Gadzuric, who had nine of his 13 rebounds in the first half. Gadzuric scored 12 points for the Bruins.

Lavin said he was proud of the way his charges battled back.

"We have a veteran group. They demonstrated a lot of maturity," he said. "I think we are 8-2 on the road and that is a sign of maturity."

UCLA outrebounded the Cougars 39-34, and the Bruins hit 50 percent from the field to WSU's 43 percent.

Washington State had hoped that an upset of UCLA and a win over Southern California on Saturday would give them a 14-14 record and possible invitation from the National Invitation Tournament.

"It's very disappointing. We thought we had a good chance," Moore said. "We still have to come out and play Saturday."

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Men's College Basketball Scoreboard

UCLA Clubhouse

Washington State Clubhouse