Simon's dance caps comeback over UCLA

Adam F. Jarrold Arizona Daily Wildcat UA senior forward Michael Dickerson (23) looks to grab a loose ball from UCLA center J.R. Henderson (52) and Bruins guard Earl Watson (25) Saturday at Pauley Pavillion in Los Angeles. Dickerson led all scorers with 30 points in Arizona's 91-87 win.

Before the game, UCLA's Kris Johnson came over to Simon to ask, "Where's the party?"

"Right here after the game," was Simon's reply.

He made good on his word. Arizona played perhaps its gutsiest half of basketball this season to come back and defeat the Bruins 91-87 Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavillion.

Simon, who scored 20 points and had five assists after being named to the All-Pacific 10 Conference team Friday, did put on an impromptu dance show but it looked more like something out of an Onyx video as he slammed with UA fans near the Wildcat end of the court.

It was Simon's first win at the arena in front of his hometown crowd and the first UA win at Pauley since 1993.

"You could tell he really wanted it," Arizona sophomore Eugene Edgerson said.

And once the second half started, so did the other Wildcats. Senior All-Pac-10 selection Michael Dickerson scored 22 of his season-high 30 points in the second half, Donnell Harris returned to play and turned in the kind of quality minutes that were missing against Southern Cal as A.J. Bramlett sat most of the half in foul trouble, and Jason Terry was his usual self off the bench with 15 points and five assists.

"Nothing could be better," Simon said after the game.

And nobody was better than Dickerson. Whether he was driving the lane or scoring from underneath, Dickerson was almost a one-man show for the Wildcats. He scored six of the Wildcats' final eight points of the game as the two teams traded baskets as time wound down. He hit one shot to put UA up 88-87 with 1:01 to play. Then, after Bramlett drew a charge from Bruin freshman Baron Davis it was a Dickerson basket that put UA up 90-87 with 22 seconds.

The Bruins had one last chance to tie the game but a three-pointer by Davis missed its mark and Simon grabbed the rebound and then hit a free throw to provide the final margin.

Judging by their first half performance, however, it would have been hard to believe the Wildcats were capable of such a comeback. Down at one point by 15, it was all Bruins in the first 20 minutes.

"We're never dead and buried," Simon said. "We've got too much heart for that."

With the win, the second-ranked Wildcats finish the regular season at 27-4 overall and 17-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference. They will travel to Sacramento, Calif. Thursday as the No. 1 seed in the West Region to play Nicholls State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.