Monday, January 11, 1999
Eight-game winning steak ends in Oregon
MHOOPS: Bruins dunk Ducks, but find out playing on road tougher
than facing home fans
By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
EUGENE, Ore. — The Bruins’ journey down the Oregon Trail went
down a different path than UCLA expected Thursday night. UCLA’s
eight-game winning streak came to an abrupt halt with a 65-63 upset
loss against the Oregon State Beavers in front of 7,232 at Gill
Coliseum in Corvallis.
The seventh-ranked Bruins (10-3, 2-1 Pac-10) suffered their
first loss of the Pac-10 season after defeating Arizona 82-75 and
Arizona State 88-85 in overtime to start the New Year at Pauley
Pavilion. The defeat also marked UCLA’s first loss to the Beavers
in their past 12 contests. OSU’s previous victory over the Bruins
was a 79-73 victory in 1993 in Corvallis.
"This was our first real test for this group on the road," said
head coach Steve Lavin, commenting afterward on the Bruin
youthfulness and their first game in the hostile confines of an
opposing arena.
The Bruins faced a relentless Oregon State zone defense,
challenging UCLA to shoot from the perimeter and preventing them
from establishing an inside presence in the paint. The team
responded by shooting 28.4 percent from the floor, a season low.
The Bruins were four of 27 from beyond the three-point arc and
never established a sense of rhythm or momentum at any point in the
game.
Meanwhile, the Beavers (7-5, 1-2 Pac-10) managed to utilize a
majority of the shot clock in their favor to post their first
conference victory. This is evident in OSU’s shooting of only half
as many shots as UCLA. They shot 42.5 percent from the floor, and
six of 17 from three-point range. Both teams shot poorly from the
free-throw line, with UCLA going 13 of 22 and OSU shooting 25 of 41
from the charity stripe.
Baron Davis and Earl Watson led the Bruins with 15 points
apiece, taking a combined 36 shots from the field.
JaRon Rush chipped in eight points and 12 rebounds while senior
Brandon Loyd was two of three from beyond the arc for six
points.
Oregon State’s Deaundra Tanner led all scorers with 19 points,
including 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. Josh Steinthal added
18 points for the Beavers.
"We were out of focus for most the game," said Bruin point guard
Davis. "We had trouble hitting clutch shots and not many of our
second-chance points."
UCLA found themselves back on the right path on the second half
of their Northwest adventure. The Bruins defeated the Oregon Ducks
(9-4, 1-3 Pac-10) by a score of 65-63, in front of a capacity crowd
of 9,087 at McArthur Court in Eugene.
UCLA started the game against the Ducks in similar fashion
Thursday night in Corvallis.
The Bruins fell behind early, 19-11, as Oregon played a tough
defensive front that limited UCLA to shooting from the outside.
But Davis and the backcourt were committed early in the game to
penetrating the inside and forcing the Ducks to commit fouls early.
Meanwhile, Oregon made the crucial decision to rely on their
outside shooting.
"You can’t live and die by the three in the Pac-10 conference,"
said Duck forward A.D. Smith. "It can come back to bite you, like
it did tonight."
A thunderous dunk by Davis at the midway point of the second
half did not rattle the Ducks, who were stirred up by the deafening
crowd at Mac Court. Oregon went on to hit four three-pointers in a
three-minute span to keep UCLA from pulling away.
"They were shooting the three-point shots really well and
stretching our defense," said Coach Lavin. "We were more aggressive
and intense than Oregon tonight, which is different from what I saw
on game film prior to the game."
The Bruins stole the second half by staying with their game plan
and executing tough and tight defense. A shot clock violation by
the Ducks with 53.6 seconds to go in the contest proved costly as
UCLA staked a late two-point lead. A late scramble for a missed
free throw by the Bruins with under 20 seconds to go provided more
excitement for the hostile crowd. A Bruin steal on an Oregon
breakaway sealed the victory.
The Bruins shot 46 percent from the floor against the Ducks on
25-55 shooting.
The Ducks shot only 19 of 53 for the game, but were 10 of 24
from beyond the three-point arc. UCLA shot 15 percent from the
three-point line and shot 57 percent from the free-throw line.
Davis led all scorers with 22 points in 35 minutes. Jerome Moiso
added 14 points and seven rebounds for UCLA.
Smith had 16 points for Oregon, including four of five from
three-point range. Alex Scales and Frederick Jones added 14 points
apiece for the Ducks.
"The fans really got after us here at Mac Court," said UCLA
forward Travis Reed.
"But we calmed down and got a big win," he added.
Next up for the Bruins are the California Golden Bears on
Thursday, who shocked the nation by defeating then-No. 7 North
Carolina at the Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland. UCLA follows with
the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday. Both games are at Pauley
Pavilion.BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin
UCLA’s Jerome Moiso goes up for a behind-the-backboard shot
above defenders Mike Carson (center) and A.D. Smith of Oregon.
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