Friday, November 20, 1998
UCLA rushes to victory in opener
M.HOOPS: Freshmen pivotal in 89-76 victory over Santa Clara
squad
By Brent Boyd
Daily Bruin Staff
JaRon Rush put a big exclamation point on a Bruin win that was
full of question marks.
The freshman forward’s thundering slam dunk with six seconds
remaining put the finishing touches on UCLA’s 89-76 win over
visiting Santa Clara Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.
Aided by Rush’s 19 points, UCLA (1-0) won its season opener for
the first time in four years, but in the process showed the signs
of inconsistency that are expected when a team starts four freshmen
and plays a total of 12 players.
UCLA turned the ball over 15 times and committed 12 personal
fouls in the second half alone to allow Santa Clara (0-2) to remain
in the game throughout.
"When you play that many people, it’s going to be tough," UCLA
head coach Steve Lavin said. "And starting four freshmen, we expect
there to be some ups and downs."
At any rate, UCLA held off a feisty Bronco squad that refused to
fold – largely because of guard Nathan Fast’s game-high 25
points.
Down early by 13, Santa Clara cut the deficit to 56-52 with just
over 13 minutes remaining in the contest.
A 10-point Bruin run followed, however, and UCLA coasted the
rest of the way for the victory.
Rush had a big part in the turnaround.
After struggling early, Rush scored 12 of his points in the
second half and amassed six of his eight rebounds (which tied for
the team-high).
He attributed his improvement in play to the excitement that the
8,532 in Pauley Pavilion generated.
"When the crowd got into it, that helped out a lot," Rush said.
"You feel on top of the world and that nobody can stop you."
But, Rush didn’t do it alone. Sophomore point guard Earl Watson
threw in 15 points and five assists, and freshman forward Jerome
Moiso added 16 points.
Like Rush, it was also a tale of two halves for Moiso – 11 of
his points and five of his seven rebounds came after halftime.
Sophomore guard Moose Bailey, and freshmen forward Matt Barnes
and center Dan Gadzuric added nine points apiece for UCLA.
Gadzuric scored the Bruins’ first eight points but was held
scoreless in the second half.
"I guess I wore down a little," Gadzuric said. "As the season
goes on, I’ll be more physical."
In some ways, UCLA was quite impressive – with 73 percent
free-throw shooting and a 44-33 rebounding edge.
But there are causes for concerns. The Broncos shot at 39
percent, which was much higher than its previous contest against
Pacific, and the Bruins at times looked chaotic.
Nevertheless, it was a win and good experience for UCLA.
"We need games like this to prepare for the Pac-10," Lavin
said.
Fortunately for the Bruins, they have nine more of these
games.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]