Monday, February 3, 1997
M. HOOPS:
Brandon Loyd steps up into limelight, leads UCLA to victory with
three-pointersBy Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
Corvallis, Ore. — The rain came down in a fury in the Pacific
Northwest this past weekend, but for the Bruins, a 74-68 win
against Oregon State on Saturday kept them from getting completely
soaked on their road trip.
Coming off of a disappointing overtime loss to Oregon two nights
prior, UCLA (12-6 overall, 7-2 Pacific 10) had at stake its lead in
the Pac-10 standings and its confidence going into the second half
of the conference schedule, not to mention its postseason
aspirations.
The game against the Beavers (5-13, 1-8) certainly called for
one of the Bruins’ big guns to carry the load. But in a win over
the Pac-10’s worst team, a player the fans are unaccustomed to
hearing from in the post-game interviews rose to the forefront for
UCLA.
Brandon Loyd, who had tallied just eight points in the Bruins’
previous eight games, sank four out of five three-point shots for a
career-high 12 points. Loyd’s fourth trey came near the halfway
point of the second half when UCLA held a tenuous 55-51 lead,
silencing the Gill Coliseum crowd of 8,307.
"Brandon Loyd will get the game ball today," UCLA head coach
Steve Lavin said. "I told him that he has the most difficult
position on the team, because, like a pinch hitter, he may go two
or three games and may not even play. To keep his game razor sharp
even though there are games when he’s not playing, that’s very
difficult to do."
It was the first time the sophomore guard broke double figures
this season, but it may not be surprising that this particular week
was the one in which Loyd asserted himself in a big way. Five days
prior to Saturday’s game, Lavin gave him a dose of confidence in a
private conversation.
"Coach Lavin came to talk to me on Monday and told me to keep my
head up and to keep working hard because I’m going to have some
time," Loyd said. "Today was one of them, and I was ready."
Junior guard Toby Bailey, who was on the giving end of the pass
for two of Loyd’s bombs, said the team never lost faith in Loyd’s
ability to be an instant spark despite the fact that he has been
receiving limited minutes.
"That’s what he does in practice all day, so we weren’t
surprised at all," Bailey, who finished the game with eight points
and 10 assists, said. "I told him on the bus over here that he was
due to hit a couple three pointers."
Along with Loyd’s sharp-shooting, one of the keys to UCLA’s
second-half success was the absence of Oregon State’s Corey
Benjamin. The freshman phenom led all scorers at the half with 14
points, but eight minutes into the second half with his team
trailing by only four points, Benjamin lost his cool while battling
for inside position against UCLA’s Charles O’Bannon. He picked up
his fourth and fifth personal fouls in a span of 11 seconds, and
left the game not having scored any points in the second half.
"I thought that obviously helped," Lavin said. "He’s such an
explosive and tremendous offensive weapon, it put a little more
pressure on the other players to step up and try and score."
Meanwhile, O’Bannon scored eight of his 19 points in the second
half, and Jelani McCoy grabbed five of his team-high eight rebounds
in crucial situations down the stretch.
"Today our defense and our intensity and aggressiveness was
back," Lavin said. "I just couldn’t be more proud of our guys,
their resiliency and their ability to bounce back all year."
SUSIE MING HWA CHU/Daily Bruin
Jelani McCoy (r.) grabs a rebound while avoiding OSU’s Carson
Cunningham.