UCLA Faces Disappointing Ducks

UCLA’s Bruins, who proved that they’re capable of playing a competitive basketball game, will proceed to the next task this afternoon, trying to win one.

Their opponent will be Oregon at 1 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion. As disappointing as the Ducks have been, in nonconference play and in their Pacific 10 opener, which they lost to USC in their very own Pit Thursday in Eugene, 63-59, they’re still 7-7. UCLA hasn’t beaten a team with a .500 record this season.

Thursday night at Corvallis, though, the Bruins scared a good Oregon State team, the consensus No. 2 pick in the conference, cutting a 12-point, second-half lead to one in the last six minutes before succumbing, 59-49. The Beavers had gone in 9-1, the best record in the Pac-10, shooting 54% from the floor and limiting opponents to 44%.

The game featured an offensive renaissance for center Brad Wright, who looked as if he wanted the ball for the first time this season and had a five-minute spurt in which he took OSU’s 6-foot 9-inch Steve Woodside apart. The 6-11, 223-pound Wright will get a larger test today, Oregon’s 7-foot, 245-pound Blair Rasmussen.

Rasmussen is one of three starters back from the team that Don Monson improved from 9-18 to 16-13 and an NIT berth in his first season at Eugene. More was expected this season, but less has been delivered. An official of the Ducks’ intrastate rival, Oregon State, asked about the problem in Eugene, said: “Leadership.”

The Ducks are said to miss departed point guard Gary Gatewood and forward David Brantley. This season, the Ducks have blown a number of big leads, including 12 against Cal and 13 against Minnesota, and they’re losing most of their close games. The new point guard, Chris Harper, was benched during the Far West Classic.

Also returning is forward Gerald Trapp, who threw in the shot that stunned the Bruins last season, a long heave as he disappeared over the end line. It went in as the game ended, tying it and sending it into overtime, which the Ducks won.

The Bruins haven’t shown they can win a close game, either. Their wins have been wipeouts. The closest to close was an 69-61 victory over Oral Roberts, in which they missed the first shot of a one-and-one three straight times in the last minutes. They may just have played a good game, but there’s a lot more to prove in Westwood.