Andrews scores 35, Washington beats No. 25 UCLA 96-93 in two OTs
SEATTLE -- On the verge of one of the worst games of his college career, Bryce Alford did his part by twice extending the game for No. 25 UCLA.
Andrew Andrews and Washington finally put away the Bruins in the second overtime.
Andrews matched his career-high with 35 points and Washington held on to beat UCLA 96-93 in double overtime on Friday night in a game that featured 64 fouls, 90 free throws and more drama than anyone expected.
Alford scored a season-high 30 points for the Bruins (9-5, 0-1 Pac-12) despite missing his first 11 shots. His 3-pointer with 7 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 71, and he hit another with 13 seconds left in the first overtime to pull the Bruins even at 83.
In the end, Alford's late rally wasn't enough.
"It was one of the worst nights of my career going into the last couple of minutes of the game," Alford said. "You've got to have confidence you can help your team and when my team needs me I think that's when I'm best. It was unfortunate the way it started but you've got to have confidence you're going to help your team."
Alford made 5 of 21 shots but got most of his points at the free-throw line where he was 17 of 18. There were a lot of free throws for both sides as five players combined fouled out. The Bruins were 38 of 50 at the line, while Washington went 27 of 40.
Thomas Welsh added 19 points for UCLA but was on the bench with foul trouble for much of the game. Isaac Hamilton added 15 points and Tony Parker had 11 but was just 3-of-14 shooting.
"I thought our concentration -- we haven't played for (nine) days -- our concentration and making simple plays and making shots in the first half was really bad," said UCLA coach Steve Alford, also Bryce's father. "And then because of that it puts a lot of pressure on your defense in the second half and we weren't able to get it done. We couldn't get the stops we needed to get."
Washington had five players in double figures, including 15 points from reserve Malik Dime, who scored eight straight for Washington midway through the second half when the Huskies were trying to hold their lead. Matisse Thybulle and David Crisp both had 13 points, and both hit key 3-pointers in each overtime. Thybulle's 3-pointer with 1:30 left in the first overtime gave Washington an 81-80 lead and Crisp's 3-pointer with 38.8 seconds left in the second overtime gave the Huskies a 93-89 lead.
Andrews scored 27 of his 35 points during the second half and the two overtimes. He finally gave Washington a little space in the second OT with a 3-pointer from the wing and a steal and dunk for a 90-85 lead with 2:05 remaining. Two free throws from Alford and a putback by Welsh pulled the Bruins within 90-89, but Crisp's third 3-pointer pushed the lead to four.
Parker scored quickly for UCLA, but the Bruins had to foul. Dejounte Murray missed both free throws with 16 seconds left but Hamilton's driving attempt to pull even bounced off the rim. Thybulle grabbed the rebound and was fouled, then hit one of two with 5.9 seconds remaining.
Washington learned its lesson, fouling Alford with 1.8 seconds left. He hit both free throws -- the second an accident when he was trying to purposely miss -- and Andrews added two more free throws for the final margin.
"This was by far the most intense game I've played in," Thybulle said.
