UCLA Wins Ugly Over Some Ugly Ducks at Pauley, 71-65

It was not a pretty sight, but it was a victory, and a conference victory, at that. So browbeating and breastbeating were kept to a minimum as the early reviews came in on UCLA’s 71-65 victory over Oregon Thursday night.

Luckily for the Bruins, the game was not televised. But the 8,351 fans who showed up at Pauley Pavilion to see the Pac-10 opener for both teams can bear witness to the fact that both teams have a long way to go.

“The first conference game is always tough, just like the first game of the season or the first game of the playoffs is always tough,” UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard said. “It’s good to have it behind us with a ‘W.’

“We did win the game, in spite of ourselves.”

UCLA outrebounded Oregon (35 to 28), outshot Oregon (49.1% to 46.8%), beat Oregon from the free-throw line (75% to 43.8%), even jumped out to an early 12-point lead, and still managed to make it exciting.

When sophomore guard Rick Osborn of Oregon picked up a loose ball and made a layup with 3:10 left, he put the Ducks within easy reach, 65-61.

But this was one of those games coaches dream about--and wake up in a cold sweat about.

The Bruins seemed to get worse with every passing minute, and the Ducks weren’t doing much better.

Nobody scored for the next 2 minutes 23 seconds.

During that stretch, Oregon guard Anthony Taylor missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Oregon center Jerry Adams was called for an offensive foul.

As Oregon Coach Don Monson said, the Ducks had their chances.

UCLA finally broke the scoring drought when freshman Pooh Richardson sank the first of two free throws after Taylor was called for an intentional foul with 47 seconds to play. But Richardson missed the second, and Oregon had yet another chance.

Oregon forward Kenny Sprague then missed the front end of a one-and-one with 31 seconds left.

By this time, frustration had the better of Monson, who got himself a technical foul just as Sprague was stepping to the line.

UCLA’s Reggie Miller made both of the shots on the technical, but when the Bruins tried to put the ball inbounds, Richardson threw it to Miller in the backcourt, and UCLA was called for an over-and-back violation.

Hazzard said: “Never a dull moment with a young team. I think I got a few more gray hairs out there tonight. . . . We made a lot of mental errors.”

Miller, who led all scorers with 22 points, said: “We played pretty lackadaisical. Maybe it was because of the 10-day layoff. Maybe we showed some holiday blues. But at least, we got out with a win. That’s what counts.”

Hazzard mentioned that Monson’s technical foul was timely for the Bruins. It also could be said that Hazzard’s technical was timely for the Ducks.

UCLA was leading by six points, and UCLA had the ball when Hazzard’s complaints about the way the Oregon players were pushing off brought him a technical foul. Taylor made just one of the free throws, but on the possession that followed, Keith Balderston scored on an alley-oop pass from Taylor, and the Ducks were within three for the first time since the opening minutes.

UCLA had played a decent first half, but the Bruins can’t seem to put two halves together.

UCLA led at halftime, 41-34, after leading by as many as 12 points before intermission.

Guard Montel Hatcher got the Bruins off to a good start, scoring eight quick points as UCLA went ahead, 10-4, before Hatcher picked up his second foul and was replaced by Corey Gaines less than five minutes into the game.

Richardson also carried a lot of the early scoring load, taking uncharacteristically long shots and hitting them.

He also did his characteristic chores, providing the steals and the assists. The Bruin lead went to 32-20 on his steal and feed to Miller for Miller’s reverse slam dunk.

Jerald Jones came off the bench in the first half to hit five of six shots and contribute to the Bruins’ rebounding dominance.

Jones finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds, playing 31 minutes. But Hazzard said that did not necessarily signal a future lineup change. “I like that kind of punch coming off the bench,” he said. “I hope some of his enthusiasm rubs off on the rest of the team. He scraps, he dives on the floor and he goes after loose balls.

“We’re going to need that kind of effort every night because we have one of the smallest teams in the country. It’s no secret that we have no inside game and that we are going to have to rely on a great effort every time out to win.”

This one, they won without the great effort.

UCLA’s overall record went to 6-2 while Oregon dropped to 5-6. It was the Pac-10 opener for both teams.

Bruin Notes

For UCLA, Thursday night marked its seventh straight home game. The Bruins have not played on the road since their opener at North Carolina. They will play an eighth straight game at Pauley Pavilion Saturday at 3 p.m. against Oregon State before making a trip to play at Washington and Washington State the next week. . . . Oregon, on the other hand, has been on the go for the past 12 days. . . . UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard, after moaning about his team’s effort, added: “Oh, well, we’re a football school. That was a great job by (UCLA football Coach) Terry Donahue in the Rose Bowl yesterday.” . . . Freshman Pooh Richardson made 8 of 10 shots from the field, shooting more from long range this time. Richardson said: “It was mostly because of the flow of the game--they were cutting the baseline off for Reggie (Miller). Looking at the films, I felt I could score a lot from the key or out on the wing.”