Friday, March 21, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Cameron Dollar was a sophomore on the UCLA team two years ago when he watched Tyus Edney dribble the length of the floor to beat Missouri in an NCAA West regional.
Dollar used the same tactic Thursday night to break the back of a stubborn Iowa State team in the NCAA Midwest regional at San Antonio and set up a showdown with Minnesota on Saturday.
Dollar's 4-foot bank shot over the outstretched fingers of Kelvin Cato with 1.9 seconds left sent UCLA past Iowa State 74-73 in overtime. The Bruins overcame a 16-point deficit for the third time this season. They previously erased 16-point disadvantages to Washington and Oregon.
"He just finds ways to win," UCLA coach Steve Lavin said of Dollar. "Because of his heart, toughness and intelligence, he's able to overcome everything he lacks, like size and quickness."
The second-seeded Bruins, winners of 12 in a row, will play top-seeded Minnesota, which survived Clemson 90-84 in double overtime. UCLA is 4-0 against the Gophers.
Dollar, who had a career-high 20 points, also dribbled the length of the floor two weeks ago to beat Washington State 87-86.
Before UCLA inbounded the ball, Lavin gave Dollar the OK to dribble the length of the floor.
"I got the go-ahead from coach Lavin to break it down and go to the rack," Dollar said. "I got by Jacy Holloway at the foul line and put the shot up over Kelvin Cato. If he was going to block it, he blocks it and we go home. If I make it, we advance."
Dollar's shot came after Shawn Bankhead put Iowa State ahead 73-72 on an inbounds alley-oop.
Iowa State was guilty of a five-second violation on its final possession, and UCLA ran out the clock.
Dedric Willoughby of Iowa State sent the game into overtime with 17 seconds left with his eighth 3-pointer of the game.
"We left everything we had on the court," Willoughby said.
"Dollar was difficult to handle all night long," Iowa State coach Tim Floyd said. "We let UCLA get too many transition baskets."
UCLA (24-7) beat Iowa State (22-9) although Willoughby scored 34 points for the Cyclones and was 8-of-17 on 3-point shots.
Other regional semifinal games:
* UTAH 82, STANFORD 77 (OT): At San Jose, Calif., Andre Miller, Utah's point guard, and freshman Hanno Mottola took over when Keith Van Horn fouled out early in overtime. Mottola hit a short jumper and followed seconds later with a free throw to give Utah a 76-73 lead in the overtime. Miller added three more free throws as the Utes scored their final seven points at the foul line. Ever the team leader, Van Horn did not march straight to the bench after fouling out with 25 points and 14 rebounds. He walked over to his teammates and talked to them for several seconds before leaving the game. Utah (29-3) has won 14 in a row. Brevin Knight, Stanford's star point guard, led a wild comeback. Knight, who got his fourth foul early in the second half, scored 25 of his 27 points after halftime and hit a 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left to force OT. The Cardinal (22-8), who trailed by as much as 16, were seeded sixth in the West Regional.
* MINNESOTA 90, CLEMSON 84, (2 OT): At San Antonio, Bobby Jackson made a 3-pointer with 3:55 left and a fadeaway jumper in the lane with 42 seconds remaining in the second overtime to finally give the Gophers (30-3) control of the Midwest Regional semifinal. Sam Jacobson matched his career best with 29 points. Clemson (23-10) got 22 points from Greg Buckner. The fourth-seeded Tigers rallied after trailing by 15 in the first half, but failed to make a field goal in the second overtime. They also held a six-point lead in the first OT. The trip to the regional finals will be just the second in school history for Minnesota.
* KENTUCKY 83, ST. JOSEPH'S 68: At San Jose, Calif., defending national champion Kentucky's victory in a West Regional semifinal set up a rematch with Utah on Saturday for a berth in the Final Four in Indianapolis. Kentucky ran a relentless attack from the start. That reduced pesky St. Joe's to a team with no hope of an upset. When All-America forward Ron Mercer stole a ball, slashed toward the hoop, and spun 360 degrees for a layup that gave Kentucky a 20-10 lead, it was an early sign the Wildcats (33-4) would have no trouble. Mercer, who finished with 19 points, simply couldn't be stopped.
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