USC Hangs In Until UCLA Pulls String, 85-70 : Richardson Is the Driving Force Behind Bruins’ Second-Half Dominance

In the first meeting between UCLA and USC last month at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins didn’t waste much time in disposing of the Trojans.

UCLA delivered the knockout early with a 9-0 run at the start of the game, which was expanded to 16-3 in an eventual 81-65 basketball victory.

The Bruins let the Trojans stay around for a while Thursday night in the Sports Arena, but it was the same result, just a different scenario.

UCLA just out-played USC in every phase of the game in the second half in an eased-up 85-70 victory over the Trojans.

It was a competitive game in the first half with the Trojans still within sight of the Bruins, trailing 40-36 at halftime.

Then, with point guard Pooh Richardson directing his team flawlessly and forward Trevor Wilson going on scoring surges, UCLA steadily built a commanding lead.

At the end, Richardson, who had 19 points and 13 assists, dribbled through and around the Trojans and then, almost casually, would get a layup.

Anthony Pendleton’s three-point basket just before the final buzzer provided the Trojans with some semblance of respectability at the finish.

UCLA, which has won 7 of its last 10 games, reached the .500 mark with an 11-11 record, 7-5 in the Pacific 10 Conference. USC fell to 5-16 and 3-9.

The Bruins are more talented than the Trojans, especially with the backcourt leadership of Richardson. The Trojans don’t have guards to match his playmaking skills.

Andy Olivarez kept the Trojans in the game in the first half by making four of six three-point baskets.

But USC didn’t take care of the ball, especially in the second half, and the Bruins finished with 13 steals. Richardson had seven of them, a career high.

The Trojans were averaging 19.2 turnovers a game, and they were close to that with 17 Thursday night.

Wilson contributed 22 points for the Bruins, and Olivarez and forward Chris Moore each had 17 for the Trojans.

There was a time that a UCLA-USC game would draw near-capacity crowds at either Pauley Pavilion or the Sports Arena.

But only 6,057 watched Thursday night’s game, which was televised by ESPN.

UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard was concerned that he went into the game without backup center Kevin Walker, who had a sprained ankle.

He didn’t have to be concerned. The other Bruins simply closed ranks.

“Our fast break was the difference,” Hazzard said. “George (USC Coach Raveling) came out and played an up-tempo game, and they looked good. We just happened to be a little better.”

Hazzard was kind in his assessment.

Said Raveling: “For 30 minutes we played decent basketball. We played hard and answered some of their runs.

“Our demise was their ability to create a consistent offensive transition game and their ability to dominate the boards.”

Statistics wouldn’t bear out Raveling’s premise, though, as the each team had 29 rebounds.

“We didn’t get a good game out of our three inside guys,” Raveling said, “but for 30 minutes we were right there with them, and then we caved in at the end.”

The “inside guys” Raveling referred to are Moore, Chris Munk and Ronnie Coleman. Munk had 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Coleman was scoreless while playing 22 minutes.

If Richardson continues to take charge as he did against the Trojans, then the Bruins might finish as high as second in the league. Arizona is the runaway leader with an 11-1 record.

“Right before the Oregon State game (last Sunday), coach told me to just go out and do my thing,” Richardson said. “That’s what I’m doing. I talked to Magic Johnson, too, when I wasn’t going good and he told me I had good instincts and that I should just go with my instincts.”

There weren’t any incidents in the one-sided game, except among the Bruins at the end.

Wilson was cited for an intentional foul on Munk, his fourth foul, and Richardson rushed over to Hazzard on the sideline.

He suggested to his coach that Wilson should be taken out of the game.

“I thought it would help for him to sit down for a minute and calm down,” Richardson said. “He was mad because of the call and he knew it wasn’t right. We need Trevor. I wanted him.”

Wilson was cited for a foul on a free throw by Moore.

“That was a surprising call,” Wilson said. “Munk jumped into the lane, and I was trying to box him out. I got my elbow around his neck, and I guess it looked bad. But I wasn’t trying to hurt him. That would be the furthest thing from my mind.”

UCLA had an 83-65 lead at the time.

If there was one decisive spurt, it was provided by Wilson, who got three baskets, one a fast-break slam, and two free throws as UCLA extended its lead to 68-56 with 7:30 left.

The Trojans didn’t have a countering run.

“Our post defense hurt us,” Moore said. “We allowed Pooh to penetrate too much and that set up their low post for easy shots. We could have stopped them and we were prepared to--we just didn’t do it.”

Munk agreed with Moore.

“They got their baskets more on penetration than feeds,” he said. “We would step up to help our guards on the penetration and then they got the ball inside for easy baskets.”

UCLA reserve guard Gerald Madkins provided his team with a lift when he scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half.

Dave Wiltz, who is usually USC’s starting point guard, was on the bench at the beginning of the game with a strained calf muscle in his left leg. He played for 12 minutes, though, as Rich Grande started in his place and was scoreless in 18 minutes of playing time. He also had four turnovers.

Hazzard and Raveling are friends, and the UCLA coach wouldn’t rub in the win. He just said: “We’re humbly pleased, that’s all. There is no time to gloat. There are always more SC games and they can be crazy.”

They’ve been pretty mild and predictable lately.