UCLA basketball: Bad ending dooms Bruins during 70-63 loss to Washington

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The drought lives on.

UCLA came into a place where it rarely wins and had a four-point lead and the ball with about five minutes remaining Thursday night at Alaska Airlines Arena before fading during a 70-63 loss to Washington that marked the Bruins’ seventh consecutive defeat here.

The Huskies outscored the Bruins, 21-10, to close the game and make it an unhappy homecoming for UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith. The native of nearby Kent, Wash., had a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds, but it was his turnover with the Bruins holding a 53-49 lead that triggered Washington’s game-ending surge.

UCLA (21-9 overall, 12-5 Pacific 10 Conference) fell a game behind Arizona (24-6, 13-4 Pac-10) in the conference standings with one game remaining in the regular season on Saturday at Washington State. The Huskies (20-9, 11-6) are a game behind the Bruins and play host to USC on Saturday.

Bruins junior guard Jerime Anderson scored all 16 of his points in the second half, making all four three-pointers, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Washington guard C.J. Wilcox’s 24 points. Wilcox’s three-point play on a long jumper in which Anderson fouled him with 2 minutes 38 seconds left gave the Huskies a 59-53 lead. Washington’s Isaiah Thomas then scored on a layup off a turnover to extend the advantage to eight points.

The Huskies made more than enough of their free throws over the final 1:38 to secure the victory, even with Smith’s mother trying to distract them by making shrieking noises from her spot behind the UCLA bench.

We’ll have more later at www.latimes.com/sports.

-- Ben Bolch, reporting from Seattle