Friday, February 27, 1998
Bruins hope to train Huskies into accepting loss
M.HOOPS: Trip to Seattle puts team to biggest test since McCoy’s
departure
By Emmanuelle Ejercito
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
PULLMAN, Wash – The No. 18 UCLA men’s basketball team will face
its biggest and tallest test since the departure of center Jelani
McCoy two weeks ago.
The Bruins (21-6 overall, 11-4 Pac-10) will travel to Seattle on
Sunday for the second leg of their Washington tour and will tip-off
against the University of Washington at Edmundson Pavilion.
When the two teams met last month at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA
played a stellar game for 30 minutes and built up a 30-point lead
before the Huskies (16-9, 9-7) almost pawed their way back. The
Bruins would hang on to win 105-94.
However, McCoy was there to help J.R. Henderson battle against
Washington’s twin version of the Space Needle – seven-foot starters
Todd MacCulloch and Patrick Femerling. McCoy had 16 points and 10
rebounds while MacCulloch spent a lot of time on the pine with
early fouls.
MacCulloch, who averages 18.7 and 9.7 rebounds ppg, is crucial
to the Huskies’ offenses. While on the bench, the Bruins outscored
Washington 43-27. But, when MacCulloch was on the floor, the
Huskies had a 67-62 advantage.
"We’ve got to keep (MacCulloch) off the court as much as
possible for us to do well," Henderson said. "He’s their leading
scorer, leading rebounder, so obviously we are going to shut him
down if we want to win the game."
Though the Bruins are smaller, they hope to use their quickness
as an advantage.
"We’re definitely going try and press them to get them to play
our style of play," Henderson said. "Hopefully, it will cause a lot
of turnovers and get them into foul trouble."