UCLA Runs Afoul of Stanford, Loses on Free Throws

UCLA found a big forward at the end of the bench Thursday night but still lost a basketball game as a steady parade of Stanford players went to the free-throw line to sink crucial shots in the final minutes.

Charles Rochelin, a 6-7 1/2 freshman from Toronto, had his first big game for the Bruins, coming in to add some spark to a listless effort. Rochelin ended up with a career-high 16 points and the respect of a couple of coaches.

But Rochelin’s boost was not enough as Stanford broke a three-game losing streak with a 76-70 victory before a crowd of 6,905 at Maples Pavilion.

UCLA’s record dropped to 8-6 overall, 3-3 in the Pacific 10. The Bruins will play another conference game Saturday afternoon at Cal. Stanford’s record rose to 9-10 overall, 3-4 in the Pac-10.

UCLA got off to a flat start, and while Stanford is not an overpowering or particularly talented team--especially now that two senior starters are out with injuries--it is a smart, well-coached team that is not one to let a rare lead slip away.

And the Cardinal players can shoot free throws.

UCLA had come back from eight points down to within two points with 5 minutes 12 seconds to play on a jump shot from the top of the key by freshman guard Pooh Richardson. But Stanford’s freshman guard, Todd Lichti, answered that with a layin off a lob pass from Howard Wright. Lichti added a slight hesitation before he put it up, and it drew a foul from Reggie Miller.

The layin gave Stanford a 55-51 lead. The free throw that Lichti made to complete the three-point play was the first of a string of 21 free throws that Stanford sank the rest of the way.

Stanford scored 28 points on 37 free throws, contrasted with just 10 points on 15 free throws for UCLA. But no one was complaining. UCLA was doing a lot of intentional fouling as time ran out.

Stanford Coach Tom Davis said: “Anytime you’re ahead toward the end and you’re a good free-throw shooting team, you’re in good shape. Our problem is getting ahead in the first place.”

UCLA helped out with that.

The Bruins didn’t do much right in the early going. They were outrebounded; they weren’t coming up with the loose balls, and their shots weren’t falling. Even Reggie Miller and Montel Hatcher were missing.

Miller eventually found his shot and finished with 28 points. Hatcher never did find his and finished with only 6 points, going 3 for 12 from the field.

Richardson did as much outside shooting as Miller down the stretch and finished with 16 points.

But UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard wasn’t upset about the way the shots weren’t falling. He was upset about what he saw as lack of effort.

“That other team wanted to win the game more than we did,” he said. “That really upsets me. . . . We didn’t decide to play until it looked like the game was lost. . . . I don’t like a lack of effort.”

Hazzard hinted at a lineup change but made no definite statements. Rochelin may not have enough experience to replace forward Craig Jackson, but he was going well enough Thursday night to start the second half.

Jerald Jones also played a bit in place of Jackson. But the Bruins did miss Kelvin Butler, a big forward who is out indefinitely with a torn abdominal muscle.

And they did miss Corey Gaines, who has now missed three games with a hip-pointer suffered in practice last week. When Hatcher went cold, Hazzard tried to patch the hole with Rod Palmer. But Palmer, a freshman from Compton, was not the answer.

“We’re pretty banged up, too, you know,” Hazzard said.

But he wasn’t leaning on the injured players as an excuse. “Obviously, we weren’t mentally ready to play,” he said.

On the other hand, Davis thought his Cardinal players were ready. “I’m exhausted and I’m sure the players are too, just from the kind of concentration a game like that takes,” he said. “I thought we were mentally tough, hanging in there and staying alert. . . . When UCLA started to make a couple of runs at us, we didn’t become unraveled as young teams are wont to do.”

At the end, when the Bruins were doing their strategic fouling, Stanford senior Keith Ramee, a three-year starter and the only Cardinal to play in every game this season, did most of the ballhandling and much of the free-throw shooting. But the younger players did their share.

Junior Novian Whitsitt made six free throws in the final minutes to finish with a team-high 19 points, and Lichti made five to finish with 18 points.

Lichti also had seven rebounds.

Stanford outrebounded UCLA, 38-26. And although Hazzard said he knew going into the season that the Bruins would have rebounding trouble, he didn’t like the lack of effort he saw on the boards.

Stanford forward Greg Butler, a sophomore from Rolling Hills who had 14 points and 6 rebounds, said: “I thought UCLA came out flat. They just couldn’t seem to get it going. But that can happen when you’re on the road.”