NCAA-SAN DIEGO UCLA escapes Alabama to earn regional date

No. 3 Gonzaga awaits the second-seeded Bruins in Oakland.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN DIEGO -- It wasn't supposed to be this tough for UCLA, especially against Alabama's seven-man team.
Jordan Farmar scored 18 points, including five 3-pointers, Arron Afflalo had 13 points and Ryan Hollins 12 in a 62-59 victory Saturday that sent the Bruins to their first NCAA tournament regional since 2002.
No. 2 seed UCLA (29-6) will play third-seeded Gonzaga (29-3) in Oakland, trying to get back to the Final Four for the first time since their 1995 national championship.
The Bruins hung on for their ninth consecutive victory despite missing seven of nine free throws down the stretch.
Ronald Steele scored 21 points for 10th-seeded Alabama (18-13), which had seven players available. Three players in uniform were walk-ons who didn't see action. Leading scorer Chuck Davis went down with a season-ending knee injury in January.
Close calls
Twice in the final minute the Crimson Tide came within one point, but the Bruins had an answer.
Alabama closed to 57-55 when Steele scored over Farmar in the lane with 2 minutes remaining. Farmar coughed up the ball into Steele's hands at the other end.
Steele got fouled and made one of two, putting Alabama within one with a minute to play.
Afflalo got loose and launched a 3-pointer, keeping UCLA ahead 60-56 with 34 seconds left. Darren Collison fouled Steele on a 3-point attempt, and he made all three -- the first two rolling around before falling in -- to get Alabama to 60-59 with 21 seconds remaining.
Freshman Luc Richard Mbah a Moute got fouled and made one of two for UCLA for a 61-59 lead.
Key rebound
Steele's jumper fell short and fifth-year senior Cedric Bozeman grabbed the rebound with four-tenths of a second left, got fouled and made one of two before the buzzer ended Alabama's upset hopes.
Alabama tied the game at 38 on three straight points by Richard Hendrix and Jean Felix's basket off a steal.
Then Farmar hit his fifth 3-pointer, launching UCLA on a 15-7 run that equaled its largest lead, 53-45, since the start of the game. Afflalo made two 3-pointers and converted a fastbreak layup off Collison's steal in the spurt, when Hollins and Jermareo Davidson picked up their fourth fouls.
Then, Farmar and Afflalo had to sit down with their fourth and third fouls, respectively, leaving Collison to run the offense.
Washington 67, Illinois 64
SAN DIEGO -- Brandon Roy helped bring Washington back from an 11-point deficit in the second half and the Huskies made the regional semifinals for the second straight year.
Dee Brown and the fourth-seeded Fighting Illini (26-7) go home, coming up short of reaching the regionals for the third straight year. Illinois reached the national championship game last year before losing to North Carolina.
Roy scored 21 points, including five during an 18-7 run that brought the fifth-seeded Huskies (26-6) back from a 53-42 deficit with 12 1/2 minutes to play. Roy scored from inside to tie the game at 60 with 3:27 left, setting up a thrilling finish.
Washington freshman Justin Dentmon scored nine of his 13 points in the late surge, including three free throws in the final 2:20. James Augustine led Illinois with 19, Brown had 15 and Rich McBride 13.
The Huskies await the winner of today's game between Kentucky and Connecticut.