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Over the last few seasons the UCLA men’s basketball team has upset national No. 1 teams from Stanford to Kansas, while at the same time handed victories to unranked schools like Cal State Northridge, Arizona State, and yesterday, Northern Arizona.

The 67-63 loss to the Lumberjacks saw UCLA give away another win, unable even to muster a late-game comeback to save it.

“It’s just one of those days we didn’t click,” senior forward Jason Kapono said. “We knew they were a good solid team, but we didn’t step up to the challenge.”

Led by Kapono, the Bruins tried to step up, but in the end couldn’t pull it out.

With 2:37 left in the game and UCLA down six points, Kapono sank a 22-foot

three point shot to give the team some hope.

But the Bruins' go-to guy would not see the ball again until 34 seconds remained in the game. Instead sophomore guard Dijon Thompson rushed a three pointer and missed, and junior forward T.J. Cummings put up a couple of low-post bank shots.

“In the end I was going all out and it wasn’t enough,” Cummings said. “We

couldn’t get in our rhythm.”

The Lumberjacks certainly were not going to give up their lead either, and countered every Bruin make in the last three minutes with a field goal or a free throw of their own.

It came down to one last shot. The Bruins admitted after the game that they should never have been in that situation in the first place, but were looking for their clutch shooter again down the stretch.

“I didn’t want to give Jason Kapono the ball at the end of the game,” Northern Arizona head coach Mike Adras said.

But there was the ball in his hands, with an open look at the basket and his team down three points. But Kapono missed and the game was over.

After its only opportunity to get back in the game, UCLA could not steal the ball and free throws were given to Northern Arizona.

Loss or not, it was clear that Kapono was going to take the shot at the end of the game.

“I definitely will take it 20 more times,” he said. “It’s upsetting that I missed it but all day, every day, I’ll take the blame if I miss.”

His teammates were happy with him taking the last shot.

“If I’m in Vegas, I’ll bet on that shot every time,” senior guard Ray Young said.

Kapono also missed a game winning opportunity in a loss to unranked San Diego in UCLA’s season opener.

UCLA knows it can't put the game on Kapono's shoulders with the final buzzer approaching, but with many more games ahead, the likelihood of history repeating itself is high.

And Kapono will take the shot - against Northern Arizona, or a team like No. 19 Kansas which the Bruins face Saturday - but he will have to make it to give his team a win.