Friday, February 7, 1997
M. HOOPS:
Bears crash boards, outrebound UCLA 41-31 in 71-68 victoryBy Hye
Kwon and Emmanuelle Ejercito
Daily Bruin Staff
The Bruins received a thorough lesson in glass cleaning from the
California Golden Bears on Thursday night and, unfortunately for
them, it wasn’t part of some inter-UC vocational skills exchange
program.
Instead, they were schooled in the art of rebounding on the
floor of Pauley Pavilion, and upon the game’s merciful end, the
Bruins had suffered a 71-68 loss and their streak of 18 consecutive
home conference victories was history.
With the loss, UCLA (12-7 overall, 7-3 Pacific 10) is now tied
for first place in conference with Cal, USC (which beat Stanford on
Thursday) and Arizona.
"Obviously our players knew this game was for first place and it
was big for our program," Cal head coach Ben Braun said. "UCLA has
been pretty darn near perfect at home … and it’s not easy to come
in here and win. It shows that our guys have heart."
Ironically, the last Pac-10 team that was able to withstand
UCLA’s home court advantage was Cal, which came away victorious in
January 1995. This time, the single most important key to the
Bears’ success was their rebounding prowess against the Bruins.
UCLA was outrebounded 41-31 overall by the Bears, which sent a
contingent of big men to outmuscle the Bruins’ thin frontline.
Underneath their own basket, in particular, the Bruins allowed Cal
to pull down 22 offensive rebounds while tallying just 18 defensive
rebounds to their credit.
"Rebounding, I thought, was about as far as you have to look,"
UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said. "They came in and out-competed us
on the glass. I’ve said before, rebounding is like the line of
scrimmage in football. They dominated us down the trenches, both on
the defensive and offensive boards.
"Once again, we’re minus 10 (in rebounding margin) to a Pac-10
opponent, and every time we’re minus double figures in rebounding
margin we lose."
Despite its inability to rebound in key situations, UCLA had two
chances to tie the score in the game’s waning moments. With roughly
20 seconds remaining on the clock and the Bruins down 69-66, Toby
Bailey’s three-point attempt caromed off the rim. Fifteen seconds
later, Bailey again had a chance to tie the score from 22 feet, but
his shot was about a foot short.
Cal’s Ed Gray, who came into Thursday’s game as the leading
scorer in the conference, did not disappoint; he led all scorers
with 29 points. Gray’s backcourt partner, Randy Duck, however, was
flying much higher than expectations.
With four minutes remaining in the second half and UCLA on a 6-0
run to make the score 64-58, the senior guard scored the Bears’
next seven points. Duck’s timely contribution allowed Braun’s team
to stay close and launch a decisive 6-2 run to secure the
victory.
Duck finished the game with a total of 19 points, helping the
Bears avenge the loss they suffered against UCLA back in
January.
"The swing in the two games was that we outrebounded them by 10
up there and they outrebounded us by 10 down here," Lavin said.
"This is a continuing problem. We have to rebound the ball, and
against Stanford (on Saturday), it’s not going to get any
easier."
Last month at Maples Pavilion, UCLA could only grab 26 rebounds
to the Cardinal’s 45, one of the factors that led to the 48-point
pummeling the Bruins received.
UCLA looks for the rematch to provide a different story.
"Forty-eight points, that was a fluke," junior forward J.R.
Henderson said. "They shot 15 three-pointers; that’s not going to
happen again."
But it’s not just Bruin pride that is on the line. In the midst
of a four-way tie in the Pac-10 for the top spot, UCLA faces a
must-win situation. Stanford (13-5, 6-4) lurks only one game behind
even after losing to USC Thursday night, 84-81.
"Stanford presents an unbelievable challenge because they
probably have the best big-little combination in the country (and)
when you have that kind of a dynamic and dangerous big-and-little
combo then that presents a great, great challenge."
The little half of the combo is the best point guard in the
Pac-10 and one of the best in the country. Brevin Knight set the
tone for the Cardinal against the Bruins the last time they played,
scoring 25 points, 18 of which came from three-pointers. The
5-foot-10-inch senior leads the league in assists with 7.6 per
game. He is also the top scorer for Stanford, averaging 16.5 points
per game.
On the big side of the combination is Tim Young. Young, who
averages 8.5 rebounds, presented a problem for UCLA in the paint
four weeks ago by grabbing 10 rebounds. It will be essential to
contain him if the Bruins want to dominate the boards.
"We definitely can’t drop anymore (games), especially at home,"
Henderson said. "We have to play hard against Stanford and just let
(the Cal) loss go."
WYNN RUJIRAVIRIYAPINYO
Cal’s Sean Marks defends Cameron Dollar’s scoring attempt in
Thursday night’s 68-71 loss.