Feb 11, 2007 By Dave Stofcheck 4 min read

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Hollywood couldn’t write a better script. Still smarting from a loss three days earlier to a hated rival, upstart West Virginia built a 19-point lead, then held off a furious UCLA rally to defeat the second-ranked Bruins, 70-65, before a sold-out Coliseum Saturday afternoon.

The victory was the 17th against a Top 25 opponent for Mountaineers coach John Beilein during his five-year tenure at WVU. It may also be the most surprising, given West Virginia was supposed to be in a rebuilding year following the graduation of four starters from last season’s Sweet 16 team.

When the final buzzer sounded, Beilein allowed himself a moment to take in what had just transpired, and also marveled at the scene unfolding before his eyes: thousands of rabid West Virginia fans funneling out of the student section onto the court, forming a blue and gold river of pandemonium.

As the crazed fans surrounded West Virginia’s players at half-court, those remaining in the stands rose to their feet and applauded Saturday’s effort as John Denver’s “Country Roads” blared over loudspeakers.

“I usually just try to get off the court as quick as possible,” Beilein said. “You don’t want to show anybody up by being out there going crazy. But I did turn around and watch for about 10 seconds before I started to feel guilty.

“I wanted to enjoy it, and I wanted our team to enjoy it.”

No one may have enjoyed the victory more than West Virginia sophomore Ted Talkington, a walk-on guard who scored five points in four minutes of action.

Talkington is a seldom-used reserve who saw brief playing time Saturday because of injuries to Devan Bawinkel and Joe Mazzulla.

The Mountaineers (19-5) took a 32-22 lead into intermission following a 10-0 run to close the first half. West Virginia then came out of the locker room and outscored UCLA, 15-6, to take its largest lead, 47-28, on a Talkington jumper with 14:15 remaining.

Two minutes earlier, Talkington had nailed a three-pointer, one of eight by the Mountaineers.

“I really don’t know what to say,” Talkington said after the game. “It’s a great feeling.”

The victory may also serve West Virginia well down the road.

With five regular-season games remaining, plus the Big East Tournament, the Mountaineers should be able to secure an NCAA Tournament berth by winning two more games.

“We didn’t think this was a must-win, but the coaches told us it would really help out,” said WVU forward Frank Young. “It puts us in the driver’s seat heading toward the NCAA Tournament.”

Alex Ruoff led three WVU players in double figures with 18 points, with Young adding 14 points and seven rebounds. Da’Sean Butler came off the bench to reach double digits for the fourth straight game, finishing with 13 points and seven boards.

West Virginia was coming off a 13-point Big East loss to Pitt. In that game, the Mountaineers looked lethargic at times, and made only 6 of 27 three-point attempts.

“We got whacked on Wednesday, but we were able to right ourselves and get right back up,” Beilein said. “It’s easier to coach after a loss sometimes.

“I preached to the kids that we have to play at a higher level. We said we may lose to UCLA, but the water’s definitely boiling. We’re getting there. Without question, we played with a chip on our shoulder today.”

UCLA (21-3) was playing without starting guard Darren Collision, who was injured earlier in the week against USC, and also saw starting center Lorenzo Mata play just 11 minutes Saturday after aggravating a hip-flexor during the first half.

Trailing by 19 points, the Bruins tore off a 15-0 run, capped by Michael Roll’s three-pointer with 9:22 remaining.

West Virginia pushed its lead back to 10 points, but again, UCLA rallied to within four, this time at 63-59 with 1:45 to play. The Mountaineers then hit 7 of 8 foul shots over the game’s final 45 seconds to seal the upset.

“To allow them to go up by 19 points dug a big hole for us,” said UCLA and former Pitt coach Ben Howland.

“You have to give West Virginia credit, they played well. We took a couple questionable shots and fueled West Virginia’s fire.”

Guard Aaron Afflao tossed in a game-high 27 points, while Alfred Aboya (11) and Josh Shipp (10) also reached double digits for the Bruins, which were ranked No. 1 for six weeks earlier this season.

A year ago, West Virginia, ranked No. 12 at the time, defeated then No. 18 UCLA, 60-56, at Pauley Pavilion after nearly blowing a 20-point lead.