Thursday, February 20, 1997
M. BASKETBALL:
Toby Bailey leads team’s attack by scoring a season-high 24
pointsBy Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
Talk is always cheap, but a 82-60 win over USC on Wednesday
night was a huge statement on behalf of the 17th-ranked Bruins, to
say the least.
It was J.R. Henderson, who jacked up the intensity of the game
with his comments regarding USC, but ironically, he was missing in
action  all but 17 minutes  due to early foul
trouble.
The player that stepped up huge for the Bruins (16-7 overall,
11-3 Pac-10) was Toby Bailey, who used a little motivational factor
of his own to score a season-high 24 points.
"I was reading the Daily Bruin today, and they had a list of
Bruin advantages and ‘SC’s advantages," Bailey said. "I was the
only one that was at a disadvantage on our team. Everybody else was
at an advantage or a draw. It got me a little fired up to be called
a disadvantage."
"He had (the article) up on the locker earlier today. I think it
gave him a little motivation to go out and play extra hard," senior
guard Cameron Dollar said.
After scoring six points in the first half, Bailey sizzled the
net with 18 second-half points, knocking down four-of-five
three-point tries. The sophomore guard scored 12 points in UCLA’s
15-2 run midway through the second half, and increased the Bruins
lead to 54-36 Â effectively delivering the knock-out punch to
the Trojans (14-9, 9-5).
"When you knock shots down the way (Bailey) was knocking down
shots, it’s going to open things up a lot," USC head coach Henry
Bibby said. "But you have to play everyone on their team. There’s
not one guy you can focus on. If you don’t match up with them
man-to-man at every position, then they take advantage of you."
Senior forward Charles O’Bannon added 17 points and 8 rebounds,
while Jelani McCoy went six-for-six from the field, scoring 15
points in all.
Also helping the Bruin attack was Bob Myers, who played
defensively in his seven minutes of play.
Henderson, who described the Trojans as ‘just ‘SC,’ ended up
with 6 points and 8 rebounds during his brief stint on the
court.
"I can tell from the fans that there was extra emotion,"
Henderson said. "Normally it’s just a same old ‘SC-UCLA, but today
it was more exciting. Guys had signs and they were chanting my
comments and everything. It made the game more competitive."
For USC, center David Crouse led the way with 18 points and 8
rebounds. UCLA held the Trojans’ two big men, Stais Boseman and
Rodrick Rhodes, to just 14 points.
JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin
Leading scorer Toby Bailey celebrates the Bruins’ victory over
the Trojans.