UCLA Puts Up Good Fight Before Losing to Oregon St., 59-49

Every underdog has his day and Walt Hazzard almost had his in friendly old Gill Coliseum, where his Bruins cut a 12-point second-half Oregon State lead down to one with 5:20 left and then, only then, lost again.

The defending Pacific 10 cochampion Beavers managed to saw them off, 59-49, when the defending Pac-10 Player of the Year, A.C. Green scored two straight baskets on offensive rebounds. After that Oregon State played keep-away and made free throws.

Nevertheless, the Bruins had made a point. If this was a top Pac-10 contender, playing on its home court, and it was, Hazzard is right. UCLA may have found a conference it can play in.

And afterward Hazzard, proud of his team, if not as happy with the men who cover it, was asked if losing could become a habit, and declared:

“I’m not ever going to be a loser. Did we look like losers? We lost tonight in Corvallis, Ore., to a Ralph Miller team that shot 31 free throws (32 actually) while we shot seven. You people are the one who give us that losing complex. You’re the experts. I’m proud of my team. I’m proud of the job they did tonight.”

The Bruins trailed, 27-18 at the half and 38-26 8:01 into it, until staging a rally in their finest moment of Hazzard’s rookie season.

Center Brad Wright, whose lack of initiative on offense had been recently noted, suddenly turned on Oregon State’s Steve Woodside and devoured him, scoring four baskets in a span of 4:11. When Reggie Miller scored on a rebound of his own miss, the Beaver lead was down to 43-42.

It was still one point, 45-44, when Green rebounded a missed OSU shot and took it back up while Wright draped himself around his shoulders. Green still got the shot off and it went in.

He went to the foul line and missed the free throw, but the ball bounced out long, to OSU guard Eric Knox. A moment later Knox drove and slammed a shot up into the underside of the rim, and Green sucked this one up too. He went back up, scored and it was 49-44 with 4:23 left. Whatever their problems, the Beavers still know how to play with a lead.

Oregon State started the night 9-1, somewhat better than had been expected. “They’re a machine,” said Hazzard before the game. “Ralph Miller is a hell of a coach. He sits up there and smokes a pack of cigarettes during practice. He’s got things going just the way he wants. He doesn’t have to be on the floor. . . .

“They’ll throw the ball inside, but when they do, they have another guy spotting up on the baseline on the other side, and he’s a guard who’s been shotting from that spot all year. He has that program going like a machine, put in a piece for the one that’s left.”

Ralph Miller started three guards with Green and Woodside and they went 2:32 before they made their first field goal, Woodside’s 18-foot jumper. Since it took the Bruins 3:51 to get their first (Wright’s short jumper) and another 446 to get their second, the Beavers got the early lead.

By the time the Bruins had missed seven of their eight shots and were up to five turnovers, OSU led, 11-4.

The Beavers were something short of excellent themselves, missing five of their first six free throws and enough shots to give the Bruins the idea this was still a game. Gary Maloncon finally knocked in their second field goal with 11:23 left in the half, a 15-foot jumper. UCLA then missed four more shots in a row before Corey Gaines dropped in a 20-footer.

Moments later, Dave Immel scored on a layup and Maloncon hit a shot jump shot, the first (and only) time the Bruins hit two shots in a row in the first half. That cut the Beaver lead to 15-12. That’s how furious the Beaver offense was.

After that, Miller sent his players into a spread offense and found something they could run. Green scored three field goals in the last 6:00 of the half and the Beavers led by as many as 11 points. UCLA held for a last shot, which Miller canned from a stride behind the top of the circle with two seconds left and it was 25-18 at the half.

Bruin Notes

The game was a sellout, the Beaver’ first since expanding Gill Coliseum from 10,000 to 10,400. Before the game, a p.a. announcer asked fans to “move a little closer together,” so they could squeeze more in. Prior to the expansion, the Beavers’ had sold out 68 games in a row, but in a town of 41,500, they must have been hard-pressed to come up with another 400. . . .Oregon State introduced newly-hired football coach Dave Kragthrope before the game. The crowd started chanting “Rose Bowl.” Uh huh. . . . UCLA plays Oregon Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.