March 28--Not long after a span of 6 minutes 29 seconds in which Gonzaga and UCLA failed to make a single field goal, UCLA Coach Steve Alford called a timeout. He turned to an assistant.
Our offense, he said, stinks.
It was a fair assessment. On its own off night, Gonzaga won this South Regional semifinal game, 74-62.
For the Bruins, the run is over. Few expected them to make the NCAA tournament field, and even fewer expected a run into the tournament's second week. It ended there for UCLA and for Norman Powell, who has played his last game in college.
Powell was the only UCLA player who looked sharp. He made eight of 19 shots for 16 points. His teammates shot 18 of 48.
Isaac Hamilton (11 points) and Tony Parker (16) were the only other Bruins in double figures. Parker also had 11 rebounds for a double-double. Bryce Alford made just three of 11 shots for eight points.
UCLA shot 38.8% overall and didn't make a single three-pointer until a little more than two minutes were left in the game.
The Bulldogs, whose versatile offense is the fourth-most efficient in the nation, pivoted their focus to the paint after their shooting dried up. Both teams scored 42 points inside. Center Przemek Karnowski, all 7-feet-1 of him, put the team on his prodigious shoulders. Karnowski made eight of 11 shots for 18 points. He also had nine rebounds.
The offensive futility peaked with the drought in the first half. The teams combined to miss 19 shots in a row from the field until Powell finally managed to put one in.
Afterward, UCLA mostly abandoned the perimeter. All but six of its first-half points came in the paint.
Gonzaga had success but not much more. The Bulldogs led by seven points, 35-28, at the half.
After the break, the Bruins quickly went on a 6-0 run. Somehow, they were within a point of the lead.
Gonzaga Coach Mark Few called a timeout. The Bulldogs regrouped.
After the stoppage, Gonzaga scored 12 unanswered points. UCLA never threatened again.
As the game was slipping away, Bryce Alford had a chance for a layup. He missed. His shoulders slumped. A few possessions later, on another layup, Isaac Hamilton missed the rim. He got the rebound and missed iron again.
On the other end, Karnowski made another basket in the paint. Behind the Bulldogs' bench, the Gonzaga fans stood and cheered. The Bulldogs were leading by 16 with eight minutes left. The game, they could sense, was theirs.
They would extend the lead to as many as 19.
In 2006, in the same round, Gonzaga famously relingquished a 17-point lead against UCLA. Afterward, Gonzaga's star Adam Morrison, was left in tears on the floor.
This time, there would be no comeback.
zach.helfand@latimes.com
