Dollar Is Money Down Stretch

Shoot the ball 20 times a game? Cameron Dollar will pass.

Try to be the leading scorer? Moan about getting yanked from the starting lineup in his senior season? Fire back at critics of his untidy shooting percentage?

Pass, pass and pass.

But, in UCLA’s 79-70 victory before 9,584 at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday afternoon, in the defining moments of this slug-out with Washington, Dollar disdained the dish-off.

“The weird thing,” Dollar said later, “is sometimes you have to shoot it so you can pass. You get that? You have to get the defense to guard you. I want to get my boys good shots, and the only way I can do that is if I shoot it.

“That’s the method to the madness.”

With that untraditional thought process, the 5-foot-11 senior sixth man spotted up behind the three-point line on the left sideline against the Husky zone and grabbed the pass from a penetrating Kris Johnson with about 4 1/2 minutes left in the game.

Then--release, rotation, splash--Dollar smoothly buried a three-point basket to extend the Bruins’ precarious lead to 66-61.

Forty seconds later, he did it again from the top of the key, pushing the UCLA lead to eight, which was too much for the Huskies to overcome, despite forward Mark Sanford’s 26-point performance.

UCLA (7-3) had its second consecutive victory to open conference play, Dollar had a career-high 16 points and, suddenly, the Bruins were looking less susceptible to being stopped by a zone defense.

Madness.

“I’m just glad all Cameron’s hard work is finally paying off,” said Toby Bailey, who followed Dollar’s second three-pointer with one of his own. “He’s in here every day shooting after practice, and those shots today, they were deserved. They’re not lucky at all, he had good form, it was real smooth.”

Before Saturday, Dollar had made only one three-point shot all season (in two tries) and had made only 35.5% of all of his shots.

Saturday, Dollar, who was removed from the starting lineup four games ago after some poor offensive outings, came off the bench and almost never returned: He made six of his nine shots in 31 minutes, including the last 16:01 of the game.

The Huskies (7-3, 0-2) went to a zone with about six minutes left in an effort to stop UCLA forward J.R. Henderson (18 points in the game, eight for 10 on free throws) from fouling out the entire Washington frontcourt down low and to force UCLA into outside shots. Preferably by Dollar.

“We talked about maybe getting Brandon Loyd in there, but Cameron Dollar, he competes so hard, he’s just a winner,” interim Coach Steve Lavin said.

“Maybe he’s not a pretty player, he doesn’t jump over the backboard. . . . But he’s a winner, and he’s going to find ways. He did it in the Arkansas game [to win the 1995 national title].”

After one awkward drive into Husky 7-footer Todd MacCulloch, Dollar owned the zone.

This wasn’t the first time Dollar has hurt the Huskies: He beat them last season at Pauley on a wild, spinning 45-footer at the buzzer in overtime, his only basket of the game.

The Bruins unveiled other shockers Saturday: Not only did they commit 13 turnovers--their second-lowest total of the season-- with 3:31 left Bailey slid in front of Jamie Booker, drawing a critical charge foul that sent the Bruin players into riotous celebration.

“I knew that a charge right there would change the momentum of the game,” said Bailey, who had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

“I got real excited. A lot of players take charges from me, so I thought I might as well take a charge from someone else.”

That play was only one among a handful of key Bruin defensive plays in the late stages, including a flying Charles O’Bannon block of a MacCulloch two-footer and two deflections that led to steals.

Washington shot only 39.3% in the second half--and Sanford made only two baskets--after leading, 38-36, at halftime. Sanford had 16 in the first half but got tangled up in a UCLA zone that leaned heavily toward him in the second.

The Huskies cut the lead to 72-68 with less than a minute to play, but the Bruin defense stopped Washington from cutting it any deeper. In addition, UCLA made 23 of 32 free throws (after a woeful 10-for-22 performance last Thursday).

So, UCLA had its sixth victory in seven games, including the last four in a row.

When he was asked about his emotions now, Dollar pointed to an ad posted on his locker quoting noted philosopher Nick Van Exel about the virtues of practice, and nailing buzzer-beaters for victory.

“If you work,” Dollar said, “good things happen.”

* TROJANS ON A ROLL

USC beats Washington State, 106-73, to move to 2-0 in Pacific 10 Conference play. C5