Friday, January 16, 1998
Bruins snatch victory from Bears
Last-minute win wrought by efforts of seniors Bailey, Henderson
and Johnson
By Mark Shapiro
Daily Bruin Staff
OAKLAND — In what is rapidly becoming their trademark, the UCLA
men’s basketball team again went to the brink of defeat before
yanking a victory away from an opponent that, on paper, is not in
the same class.
The trend continued Thursday night as the eighth-ranked Bruins
rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit to steal a 74-73
victory from the upset-minded University of California, before
10,927 fans at the Oakland Coliseum.
This time around, it took a superhuman effort from UCLA’s (13-2,
4-1 Pac-10) trio of seniors and a pair of bonehead plays by the
Bears to save the Bruins from defeat.
"One thing is consistent, this team has a special way of keeping
the game interesting," UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said. "They
definitely have an entertainment value. You can’t get a better game
for your dollar."
It was all seniors down the stretch for the Bruins as J.R.
Henderson, Toby Bailey and Kris Johnson combined to score UCLA’s
final 14 points. Johnson paced the team with 25 points, including a
free throw with 11 seconds left to ice the game. Henderson tossed
in 23 points, and Bailey buried a long three-pointer with 1:39
remaining to give the Bruins a lead they would not relinquish.
"This showed how good of leaders we are, that we can step up in
pressure situations and make big shots," Henderson said. "Toby made
some, I made some, and Kris hit some big free throws. … We need
our three seniors to come to play every night."
There were also mental miscues aplenty in the game’s final
minutes.
The first came as Cal seemed poised to put the game away. The
Bruins trailed 63-55 with 6:51 left in the second half after a 6-0
Cal run, but a technical foul was called on the Bears’ Thomas
Kilgore after he threw the ball at a prostrate Henderson, giving
UCLA two free throws and possession. The Bruins opened the game
with an 8-0 run behind the activity of Henderson inside, but the
lead quickly dwindled as Cal rallied behind junior Michael Gill’s
outside shooting and some ferocious defense.