Against Pooh, USC Goes Poof : Richardson, Miller Lead UCLA to Win at Pauley, 66-56

UCLA freshman guard Pooh Richardson is new around here. The game Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion was his first exposure to the USC-UCLA rivalry.

But Richardson is not one to let his game be thrown off by a big buildup or a TV camera or a mere 10,593 fans. He figures a rivalry is a rivalry, and he has seen rivalries before.

He looked at the starting five for USC and saw two other freshmen from Philadelphia--center Hank Gathers and guard Bo Kimble--and he remembered beating them regularly in that city’s biggest crosstown prep rivalry.

Richardson’s Ben Franklin High used to beat Dobbins Tech with the place packed, with the fans lining the court and jamming the exits, and, Richardson says, with the extras hanging onto the side of the building watching through the windows.

Pooh Richardson thrives on that kind of basketball.

He was in his glory Wednesday night as he directed UCLA to a 66-56 victory, ending the Bruins’ three-game losing streak this season and ending their three-game losing streak to the Trojans.

UCLA evened its conference record at 4-4 and now has an overall record of 9-7 that it will take into a nationally televised game at Louisville Saturday. USC dropped to 3-5 in the Pacific 10 and 9-9 overall.

Forward Reggie Miller led the Bruins with 21 points, and Richardson had 16 points while also running the show for the full 40 minutes. It was a quick 15-foot jumper by Richardson with slightly more than three minutes to play that put a stop to the Trojans’ last run at the Bruins.

UCLA had led by as many as 10 points in the first half, only to have USC tie it up by halftime. And UCLA had led by as many as 12 points in the second half, only to have USC close within two, 52-50, on a tip-in by forward Derrick Dowell.

Richardson stretched the Bruin lead back to four before UCLA started parading to the foul line.

Miller made nine of his points from the line, getting six in the last three minutes. Two of his free throws made it 56-50. Then USC missed three straight chances at a basket before finally drawing a foul that sent Brad Winslow to the line. But Winslow missed both free throws.

Free throws by Bruin backup center Jack Haley stretched the lead to eight, and free throws by guard Montel Hatcher made it 10 with 1:04 to play.

For Hatcher, a shooting guard who has been in a shooting slump for the last three games, those free throws represented two of his total of eight points. He made just 2 of 10 shots from the field.

Richardson said that he was doing more shooting because of Hatcher’s slump. “I thought I needed to go in and set the tempo,” he said. “It seems like the last couple of games, Montel has been having some trouble hitting his shots. I wanted to build his confidence back up. I thought that if I hit some shots, that might spur some confidence in Montel.”

Richardson also needed to put up some outside shots because Miller was having some trouble getting his away. Miller, besides having to take a break midway through the second half after being called for his fourth foul, was involved in quite a matchup with USC freshman Tom Lewis.

Miller and Lewis (who finished with 12 points) were both held under their averages.

Miller said, “I wanted to shut him down, and I got into foul trouble doing it.” Lewis said that he was surprised at Miller’s defensive effort.

USC was led by Dowell, who had 20 points.

Kimble had 10 points for the Trojans while working against Hatcher. But his average wasn’t any more impressive than Hatcher’s. Kimble made just 4 of 13 from the field.

Richardson matched up against Trojan point guard Larry Friend, a senior, who scored four points but played just 25 minutes because of foul trouble.

Overall, it was a good defensive effort by the Bruins.

UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard said: “This was a typical SC-UCLA game. It was a very tough game, and it was hard-fought.”

Hazzard thought that the key to the Trojans’ undoing was Friend’s foul trouble. Friend picked up two consecutive fouls with more than 13 minutes left in the game.

UCLA made rare use of a zone defense late in the game to help protect Miller, who was playing with four fouls. But that did not alter the Bruin game as much as the loss of Friend altered the Trojan game.

USC Coach Stan Morrison had profuse praise for the Bruin effort all the way around. “Pooh is sensational,” he said. “He stole the ball, defended, penetrated and shot over the high top of us. He got the ball to the open man and ran the team like a senior.”

Bruin Notes UCLA’s Walt Hazzard coached his first victory over USC Wednesday night. He has a winning record over the Trojans as a player and is now 1-2 as a coach. . . . USC Coach Stan Morrison said, “It was an excellent coaching job by Walt and his staff.” . . . Bruin forward Reggie Miller had a new haircut--more like a shave--for the game against the Trojans. He said: “We had lost three games in a row, so I decided it was time to cut it all off and start from scratch. I was trying to look mean, like Freddie in ‘Nightmare on Elm Street.’ He’s vicious. Basketball players need to be mean, not cute.” . . . The UCLA team is leaving today for its Saturday game at Louisville.