Monday, January 12, 1998
Men’s Basketball Notebook
UCLA 69, New Mexico 58 (Dec. 6)
In the fourth annual John R. Wooden Classic at the Anaheim Pond,
the Bruins would face their first top 10 opponent in No. 8 New
Mexico since losing their season-opener to then-No. 3 North
Carolina. How well could a UCLA squad without two key players do
against a team that boasted the 6-foot-8-inch preseason
All-American candidate Kenny Thomas? Just fine, thank you.
J.R. Henderson found glory as a freshman in the inaugural Wooden
Classic by sinking two free throws with less than one second left
to lead the Bruins past powerhouse Kentucky 82-81. In his senior
year, Henderson was again a hero, this time by scoring a game-high
24 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Defensively Henderson held
Thomas, who averages 19.6 points and 11.6 boards, scoreless in the
first half and to a total of eight points and six rebounds as the
Bruins beat the Lobos 69-58.
The Bruins found themselves in an 11-point hole early in the
first half but battled back to take a 34-30 halftime lead. UCLA’s
seniors dominated the second half with Henderson and guard/forward
Toby Bailey scoring the first 17 points for the Bruins.
Bailey added 18 points and a season-high seven assists while
freshman Travis Reed had a season-high 14 points in 28 minutes.
* * *
UCLA 120, Cal State Fullerton 91 (Dec. 13)
It was a run and shoot type of game that saw four true freshmen
start for the first time in school history, and the return of a
senior.
Kris Johnson made his season debut after being suspended from
the team on Sept. 29. Johnson entered the game to the ovation of
the 9,724 spectators at Pauley Pavilion with 7:31 remaining in the
first half. Two seconds later, he made his presence known, stealing
a Titan inbound pass for a lay-in. Johnson played a total of 15
minutes and scored 15 points helping the Bruins to a 120-91
trouncing of Fullerton.
"Kris played a real solid game," UCLA head coach Steve Lavin
said. "He was patient and didn’t try to force the action."
Henderson and Baron Davis did not start for being late to
practice and thus along with the usual starters, freshmen Earl
Watson and senior Bailey, starting duties were extended to freshmen
Rico Hines, Billy Knight and Reed. Reed and Watson recorded the
first double-doubles of their college careers. Reed scored 14
points and had 10 assists, while Watson had 10 assists and 11
points.
* * *
UCLA 90, Northern Arizona 68 (Dec. 18)
Lethargic play by the Bruins in the first half allowed Northern
Arizona to stay close at half-time, 40-36.
But UCLA shot 59.4 percent from the field and forced 21
turnovers in the second half for a 90-68 victory in front of a
Pauley crowd of 7,488.
Freshmen Davis and Watson had eight and seven steals,
respectively, as the Bruins had a season-high 21 steals.
Henderson pitched in 29 points and had a season-high four
blocks.
* * *
UCLA 73, Saint Louis 67 (Dec. 20)
While UCLA’s defense held the Billikans scoreless for the first
five minutes of play, the Bruin offense helped to keep St. Louis in
the game, connecting on only 32 percent of their shots in the first
half.
The two teams stayed close throughout the game in front of a
Pauley crowd of 9,998. But St. Louis’ three inside men had four
fouls with almost 13 minutes left and UCLA took advantage by taking
the lead and never relinquishing it.
The Bruin 73-67 win was sealed when Bailey grabbed an offensive
rebound late in the game and sank two crucial free throws to give
UCLA a six point lead with 14 seconds left.
Henderson earned a double-double with his 19 points and 10
rebounds.
* * *
UCLA 81, Boise State 75 (Dec. 22)
UCLA benefited from the experience of its seniors to lasso the
Broncos, 81-75, before the 8,500 spectators in Pauley Pavilion. The
three seniors, Bailey (21 points), Henderson (22) and Johnson (22),
accounted for 80 percent of the Bruins’ total points.
UCLA trailed 42-41 at half-time, but solid shooting both from
the field (60 percent) and from the free-throw line (15 for 18) in
the second half gave the Bruins their seventh win in a row.
The Broncos connected on 11 three pointers to UCLA’s one. But
the Bruins held the edge at the free throw line making 28 of 39,
while Boise State visited the charity line for eight points.
* * *
UCLA 65, UNLV 57 (Dec. 27)
At first it seemed as if it were UCLA’s lucky night in the
Thomas and Mack Center. The Bruins led by as many 18 points.
However, UNLV wouldn’t completely fade away, giving UCLA a run for
its money.
The Bruin defense held UNLV to just 32.4 percent shooting, but
Bruin foul trouble kept the Runnin’ Rebels in the game and as they
cut the lead to six with 1:27 remaining.
With Henderson called for his fourth foul with 11:20 to go and
Davis slapped with his fourth two minutes later, UCLA had two key
players with their hands tied.
"Because they had four fouls they couldn’t be as effective on
defense because they couldn’t be as aggressive," Lavin said.
But six points is the closest UNLV would get as the Bruins sank
six of nine free throws to close out the game with a 65-57 win in
front of 17,940.
Tyrone Nesby had a game high 25 points for the Rebels while
Bailey had a team high 17 points for UCLA.
* * *
UCLA 74, Illinois 69 (Dec. 30)
The Illinois game marked the debut of junior center Jelani
McCoy, but his return was almost spoiled.
UCLA had control for most of the game until Illinois found a hot
hand in senior guard Kevin Turner. Making five three pointers in
the second half, he helped the Illini overcome a 19-point deficit
and take a 66-63 lead with 4:39 left.
UCLA would reclaim the lead, 72-69, with seconds remaining in
the game.
Illinois ran up court and the ball again found itself in the
hands of Turner. Turner attempted to tie the game with his ninth
trey. But a smothering defense by Bailey prevented the upset. Davis
subsequently sealed the Illini’s coffin by making both free throws
to give the Bruins an insurmountable 74-69 lead.
One missing element in the waning minutes of the game was McCoy.
He played only 14 minutes in his first game, last seeing action
with 3:25 left.
"Should I keep Jelani in the game?" Lavin said. "It was real
difficult, but I went with the five guys that got us the 8-1
record."
McCoy entered the game with 11:08 remaining in the first half to
the applause of 12,055 fans at Pauley Pavilion. He seemed to be in
old form as he slammed home a pass from Watson then followed it up
with another slam with Henderson assisting.
"It felt really good that my first one was a dunk," said McCoy
who scored seven points and had three rebounds. "That’s how I
wanted it to be."
* * *
UCLA 75, Arizona 87 (Jan. 3)
The defending Pac-10 champion UCLA opened up conference play
against the defending national champion Arizona. And the Bruins
looked to make a statement in front of the 14,551 gathered at the
McKale Center in Tucson – at least they did for a half. UCLA led
41-38 after 20 minutes of play, but lost 87-75.
The game see-sawed throughout the first half with neither team
convincingly pulling away. UCLA did find itself eight points behind
midway through the first half, but mustered together a 9-0 run to
stay in the game. Despite the fact that senior starters Henderson
and Bailey watched most of the game from the bench due to foul
trouble, UCLA had a three-point lead at halftime behind the hot
shooting of Johnson.
But something must have happened during the 15 minute break. In
the first half the Bruins shot a blistering 58.6 percent from the
field, while the Wildcats shot only 33.3 percent. In the second
half, the two teams changed places with UCLA shooting 36.1 percent
and Arizona shooting 50.
However, the biggest factor that may have weighed in the
Wildcats’ favor was the number of trips to the charity line. UCLA
was in constant foul trouble with four of its starters – Davis,
Bailey, Henderson and Johnson – fouling out. Arizona made 34 of 43
free throws, while the Bruins made 7 of 15.
Another factor was the fact that Henderson went cold in the
second half. The senior had scored in double figures in all of the
previous Bruin games, but against the Wildcats he only posted three
points in 26 minutes.
"I think probably the fact that he sat on the bench for 13
minutes in the first half, it doesn’t seem like he ever regained
his rhythm," Lavin said.
Perhaps a bright spot for the Bruins was the display of the
newly returned players Johnson and McCoy. Johnson scored a
team-high 28 points while McCoy had his first double-double of the
season with 16 points and 13 boards in 29 minutes.
"It seemed like they were back in the flow," Bailey said."Now
all we have to do is get everybody playing at that level and we’ll
be hard to beat."
* * *
UCLA 78, Arizona State 73 (Jan. 5)
Opening up the game with a 12-point lead gave the impression
that UCLA would do again what it had done 17 straight times – beat
Arizona State. And that the Bruins did, 78-73, but not without a
little claw biting.
A 13-0 run erased the UCLA advantage and gave the Sun Devils a
one-point lead. The score was tied at half-time 34-34.
ASU would own the lead for most of the second half, and UCLA
looked to be in a bit of a jam with seniors Johnson and Bailey
fouling out of the game with 12:52 and 5:15 left, respectively. But
Henderson, Davis and a three-point shot by Brandon Loyd would
prevent a winless desert trip.
After a three-point performance against Arizona two nights
prior, Henderson came to the University Activity Center in Tempe
with a new haircut and left the building with a career high 31
points and 11 rebounds to give him his fifth double-double of the
season.
"I hate for that (scoring only three points) to happen,"
Henderson said. "I had trouble sleeping the night before. I even
cut all my hair off to motivate me."
Ahead by two with just under 3 minutes left, a penetrating Davis
dished to an open Loyd on the left side who made the trey to give
the Bruins momentum and a five-point lead.
* * *
UCLA 90, Oregon State 72 (Thursday)
Though Lavin says that UCLA won’t be hitting on all cylinders
until February, the Bruins gave a sampling of what they could do in
a 90-72 victory over Oregon State.
UCLA used two 8-0 runs in the first half to take a 19-point lead
at the half. The last six Bruin first-half points resulted from
defensive steals. UCLA’s defense took the ball from the Beavers 11
times.
The Bruins were effective on the offensive end as well, shooting
61.1 percent from the field. Johnson scored a game-high 20 points
with his nine for 10 shooting.
Perhaps the most spectacular of the Bruin points came with 12:52
left in the game on an ally-oop with a twist. On a fast-break,
Watson banked the ball off the glass and the 6-foot-2-inch Davis
leapt over Beaver defenders to slam the ball home and bring the
9,614 in Pauley Pavilion on their feet.
Notes compiled by Emmanuelle Ejercito, Daily Bruin Senior
Staff.