SMU Tournament Run Ends
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There are strange endings to NCAA Tournament basketball games, and then there was the way Thursday’s second South Regional contest at KFC Yum! Center ended.
Guard Bryce Alford’s 3-pointer on a goaltending call with 10.9 seconds remaining lifted No. 11 seed UCLA to a 60-59 upset of No. 6 seed SMU.
Alford, who made nine 3-pointers and finished with 27 points, took an off-balance shot from beyond the arc and SMU’s Yanick Moreira appeared to deflect the ball before it reached the rim. The controversial goaltending call gave UCLA the lead and SMU was unable to answer in the final seconds.
“It certainly looked like it was going to hit the rim to me,” NCAA coordinator of officiating John Adams said on CBS. “Basket interference would kick in after it hit the rim. In the opinion of the referee, the ball was prevented from getting cleanly to the basket.”
Adams said the play was not reviewable. The official who made the call was positioned near midcourt, 30 feet from the basket.
“Obviously, I had a pretty good look at it when I shot it; and, from my angle, I saw (UCLA’s) Kevon Looney and
another (SMU) player going after it, and I was confused, because (Moreira) went up and grabbed it on its way to the rim,” Bryce Alford said. “I don’t know if it would have gone in or not, but he definitely grabbed it on its way down.
“When I released it, there was a look of disappointment, because we drew up a play and they defended it very well. I needed to have a better sense of how much time was left. There was a lot of time left, and I didn’t get the greatest of shots, but the ball bounced our way this time.”
Moreira blames himself for the loss.
“I thought I had the ball in my hands,” Moreira said. “I didn’t know the ball hit the rim. … It’s all my fault. I should have let the ball hit the rim. I take the blame on myself. I shouldn’t have made that mistake. As a senior, you can’t make those mistakes at the end of the game.”
UCLA (21-13) trailed 59-52 with a minute to play but scored the final eight points, including two 3-pointers from Alford, the son of Bruins coach Steve Alford.
Steve Alford said he once lost a game while coaching at Missouri State when a Bradley player gathered in a long rebound and threw a shot over his shoulder for a game-winning 3-pointer.
“When you have been on both sides of it, it doesn’t make the pain go away any more,” Steve Alford said. “We told our kids before the game that SMU symbolized Arizona from our league. They are very physical and really defend you. And they are a great rebounding team. SMU went on a 19-0 run, and our guys found a way to win.”
SMU (27-7), which was ranked 20th in the final Associated Press poll, used a 19-0 run to erase a 44-34 deficit and take a 53-44 lead with 4:33 left before UCLA charged back to finish the game on a 16-6 run. Guard Norman Powell added 19 points for the Bruins.
“I thought it was goaltending from where I was standing,” Powell said. “Obviously, it was a tough call to make, but I thought it was the right call.”
Guard Nic Moore led the Mustangs with 24 points and forward Markus Kennedy had 16 points and nine rebounds.
“I never saw a game end like that,” SMU coach Larry Brown said. “But you’ve got to give them credit. We turned the ball over late, and we had a goaltending late. It might have been a goaltending. It probably was.”
UCLA advances to play No. 14 seed Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday.
“Today was impressive for our guys to hang in there and learn lessons throughout the season and then find a way to win,” Steve Alford said. “On the last play, we didn’t execute exactly what the coaches drew up, throw it towards the rim and hope for a goaltending.”
Two free throws by Powell with 12:51 remaining pushed the Bruins into a 44-34 lead. SMU responded with a free throw and a 3-pointer from Moore with 9:26 remaining to slice the deficit to 44-38.
Another 3-pointer by Moore and a dunk from guard Ryan Manuel pulled the Mustangs to within 44-43 with 8:14 to go.
“The last two minutes of the game is the definition of March Madness,” Bryce Alford said. “That just shows how much our team has grown. If that run would have happened to us at the beginning of the year, I think we would have folded. No chance we win that game.”
The Bruins outscored the Mustangs 7-3 in the final 1:37 before halftime to seize a 34-30 lead. Alford’s fourth 3-pointer of the first 20 minutes and four points from Powell pushed UCLA ahead.
Despite turning the ball over eight times in the half, UCLA shot 48 percent (12 of 25) and SMU only 34.5 percent (10 of 29). Each team had 17 rebounds.
