UCLA basketball: Bruins have a 25-24 halftime lead over cold-shooting Washington
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Joshua Smith heard it from Washington Huskies fans.
And the Huskies heard it from Smith’s mother.
From her spot behind the UCLA bench at Alaska Airlines Arena on Thursday evening, Tracey Smith made a shrieking sound when Washington’s Venoy Overton and Scott Suggs each shot free throws in the first half. Overton missed his shot and Suggs made his.
The Huskies were doing a lot of missing during a first half in which they shot only 21.2% and trail the Bruins, 25-24, at halftime.
Smith, the native of nearby Kent, Wash., who spurned Washington for UCLA, had four points and nine rebounds before picking up his second foul late in the first half and going to the bench. Huskies fans unleashed boos when the freshman center first entered the game with 16 minutes 51 seconds left in the half.
Sophomore forward Reeves Nelson has 10 points and five rebounds for the Bruins, who shot 37% during a back-and-forth half in which neither team led by more than four points. Overton has six points off the bench for Washington, which is fighting for its NCAA tournament life after having lost five of its last nine games.
Huskies guard Isaiah Thomas has two points on 0-for-6 shooting and forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning has four points on two-for-eight shooting. The Huskies didn’t score for the last 4:44.
Tracey Smith, wearing a T-shirt reading ‘UCLA MOMS ROCK,’ waited until Overton and Suggs each attempted their second of two free throws before unleashing her shrieks. She was seated next to a large contingent of friends and family behind the Bruins’ bench.
--Ben Bolch in Seattle