Washington State men fall to UCLA, 74-62

LOS ANGELES —

LOS ANGELES — Washington State guard Reggie Moore desperately wanted to sweep the Los Angeles schools to generate momentum and take a three-game winning streak into next week's game at Washington.

So the former Rainier Beach High standout did everything he could to beat UCLA in Saturday's matinee, scoring a game-high 24 points, delivering a team-high three assists and collecting three rebounds.

No other WSU player, however, had much success against the Bruins' suffocating, matchup 2-3 zone in the Cougars' 74-62 defeat at Pauley Pavilion.

Klay Thompson, who entered the game leading the Pac-10 in scoring, finished with 13 points, nearly 10 fewer than his average. Nikola Koprivica added 11.

"We're playing good, but we could be playing better," Moore said. "We're kind of up and down. It would have been great to come to L.A., get two games, and our confidence would have really been up.

"It's not the same now. We'll go back, regroup with our players. Do what our coach says, and we'll be fine. I know guys will put this behind them really quick and get ready for Washington because that's a special game."

The Cougars (14-6, 4-4 Pac-10) managed a split on their L.A. road trip, posting a 67-60 win over USC on Thursday.

Washington State scored 43 points in the second half of its comeback win over the Trojans, but struggled to generate offense for long stretches against UCLA after halftime.

The Bruins, who beat the Huskies 62-61 Thursday, extended a 30-27 lead at intermission to 48-33 midway through the second half. At that point, the Cougars had just one field goal, a Moore three-pointer.

"We didn't have a lot of success inside," WSU coach Ken Bone said. "Their length affected us."

UCLA was content to allow WSU to shoot 10 of 28 on three-pointers while limiting the Cougars' starting front line to seven points.

Offensively, the Bruins controlled the tempo with a balanced attack. Reeves Nelson came off the bench and scored a team-high 19 points. Nikola Dragovic finished with 18 and Michael Roll 11.

UCLA (9-10, 4-3) made things interesting late in the game when it missed several free throws while the Cougars sank a few three-pointers.

Washington State cut the Bruins' lead to 67-60 with 1:54 left, but never got any closer.

Immediately after the game, Moore turned his attention to good friend Isaiah Thomas and the Huskies, whom the Cougars will face next Saturday.

After Rainier Beach, Moore attended Brewster Prep in New Hampshire. He felt overlooked in his hometown during the recruiting process, as the attention went to Avery Bradley (Texas), Peyton Siva (Louisville) and Abdul Gaddy (Washington).

After initially committing to Fresno State, Moore backed out and spoke to the Huskies.

"When I went to prep school I was thinking about going to the Huskies," Moore said. "They were recruiting me, but then they signed Abdul."

Moore, a leading candidate for Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in the early going, said he often compares himself to his hometown counterparts.

"I do that all the time," he said. "I just play with a chip on my shoulder. Coming out of high school a lot of people were saying so-and-so was better or another person is better. I just try to come out here and prove people wrong."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com

WASHINGTON ST. 62
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Capers	25	2-2	1-2	2-4	2	1	5
Thompson	37	5-17	1-1	1-2	1	3	13
Moore	37	9-17	0-0	2-3	3	4	24
Casto	28	2-6	3-4	3-8	0	5	7
Lodwick	8	0-2	0-0	0-2	0	3	0
Watson	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Koprivica	32	3-7	3-4	1-6	1	1	11
Thames	21	0-6	2-4	2-4	3	3	2
Enquist	11	0-2	0-0	0-2	0	3	0
	200	21-59	10-15	14-34	10	23	62

Percentages: FG .356, FT .667. Three-point goals: 10-28, .357 (Moore 6-10, Koprivica 2-5, Thompson 2-9, Lodwick 0-2, Thames 0-2). Team rebounds: 3. Blocks: 0. Turnovers: 14 (Thompson 5, Capers 2, Moore 2, Koprivica 2, Enquist, Thames, Casto). Steals: 2 (Thompson 2).

UCLA 74
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Lee	38	3-5	3-6	1-6	6	4	9
Honeycutt	32	3-4	2-5	0-8	3	1	8
Roll	37	5-10	0-0	0-4	5	1	11
Keefe	15	0-1	0-0	2-2	1	1	0
Dragovic	35	6-11	3-3	0-3	2	2	18
Abdl-Hmid	18	3-5	1-2	0-0	0	1	9
Nelson	25	6-8	7-12	1-7	0	3	19
	200	26-44	16-28	6-32	17	13	74

Percentages: FG .591, FT .571. Three-point goals: 6-13, .462 (Dragovic 3-4, Abdul-Hamid 2-4, Roll 1-4, Lee 0-1). Team rebounds: 2. Blocks: 6 (Keefe 3, Honeycutt 2, Nelson). Turnovers: 14 (Lee 4, Honeycutt 3, Dragovic 2, Nelson 2, Roll, Abdul-Hamid). Steals: 6 (Roll 2, Honeycutt 2, Lee, Dragovic).

Washington St.	27	35	—	62
UCLA	30	44	—	74

Attendance: 8,349. Officials: Michael Greenstein, Milt Stowe, J.T. Orr.