LOS ANGELES — Midway through the first half of his team's double-overtime victory over Stanford on Thursday night, UCLA point guard Bryce Alford passed up a wide-open mid-range jumper to try to thread a bounce pass to Kevon Looney in the paint.
The play resulted in a turnover, but at least Alford's mindset was correct.
The sooner UCLA realizes feeding its frontcourt players gives it the best chance of winning, the more likely the Bruins are to salvage a season that has been a major disappointment thus far. UCLA had lost five straight games before edging Stanford 86-81 behind monster performances from Looney and center Tony Parker.
Looney, a highly touted freshman forward with pterodactyl-like wingspan, set career highs of 27 points and 19 rebounds by attacking the rim off the dribble, gobbling up offensive rebounds and getting to the foul line. Parker, a 6-foot-9 back-to-the-basket threat, overpowered Stanford's frontline on the low block, scoring a season-high 22 points and adding 12 rebounds.
"Kevon and Tony started playing well right at the beginning," Alford said. "We made a point to get it inside and they did a great job of not only getting buckets but getting to the line. They both shot double-digit free throws and then they were garbage men too cleaning up our misses. They know we like to be aggressive as guards and we know that if we miss a shot, they're probably going to get the rebound."
UCLA needed every last point and rebound Looney and Parker could muster to survive a 3-point shooting barrage from Stanford (10-4) that enabled the Cardinal to build a 14-point second-half lead. Looney and Parker combined for the first 16 points in a 19-4 surge that enabled the Bruins to force overtime and ultimately snap their month-long losing streak.
"The two bigs were definitely the difference" Stanford wing Anthony Brown said.
While it was important for UCLA to avoid its first 0-3 start in league play since 1988, the Bruins (9-7) still face a long uphill climb back to NCAA tournament contention. Stanford was the first opponent ranked in the KenPom top 100 that they've beaten all season, and a home win against the solid but hardly spectacular Cardinal doesn't exactly qualify as a signature win.
Nonetheless, what UCLA did gain Thursday was a blueprint for future success.
In the Bruins' five-game losing streak, Parker averaged 5.8 points, Looney averaged 8.2 points and the two combined to take only 28.4 percent of their team's shots. That's not nearly enough considering they're the strength of a UCLA team that has only three scholarship guards, shoots 33.7 percent from behind the arc and has perimeter players that struggle to create their own shot and are prone to over-dribbling.
One reason Looney and Parker were more successful Thursday night was because UCLA's guards made a more concerted effort to get them the ball. Another is that Stanford sorely missed top rebounder and interior defender Reid Travis, who is out with a stress fracture. Maybe the biggest is that both Looney and Parker were assertive and played with urgency.
Looney attacked off the dribble from the high post, the wing and in transition and relentlessly battled for second-chance opportunities. Parker studied film of himself from everything from preseason scrimmages to last year's Stanford game, paying special attention to the way he posted up strong and battled for position.
"We did a much better job of getting the ball to Tony, no question, but I think that's twofold," Steve Alford said. "It's the guards looking for him, but it's also Tony posted today like he hadn't been posting."
Between Looney's energy, Parker's aggressiveness in the post and the unselfishness of the backcourt, UCLA discovered a formula that could serve it well in the coming weeks.
The climb back to NCAA tournament contention is steep but at least now the Bruins know the approach they must take.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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