Bruins Found Wanting in Several Departments--and Irish Win, 82-79

If that was a “report-card” game Saturday for the UCLA basketball team, as Coach Jim Harrick told his players, give the Bruins low marks for bench strength, rebounding and ability to hold a lead.

Also give Harrick a failing grade for creativity.

How else can one dismiss Harrick’s contention, however veiled, that fatigue from Thursday night’s last-second victory over USC might have contributed to a nationally televised 82-79 loss to Notre Dame?

The Irish, after all, had been on the road since Jan. 2, and 8 of their players reportedly came down with food poisoning Thursday.

But the Irish, in front of a hostile crowd of 11,847, overcame a 13-point deficit in the first half and then an 8-point deficit in the last 10 minutes to saddle UCLA with its first loss this season at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins, who have lost 3 of 6 games since beating Stanford last month, are 9-4. Notre Dame improved to 7-2.

Notre Dame put together a 12-1 spurt after falling behind, 63-55, with 9 minutes 44 seconds left, and when UCLA made only one shot in a decisive stretch of more than 7 minutes, the Irish increased their lead to 74-69.

UCLA never caught up.

“We had a tough game the other night,” Harrick said. “It was a late game and a tough game. That might have showed.”

UCLA, though, had a chance to pull even at the end.

The Bruins trailed, 80-77, when freshman Darrick Martin, unable to get the ball to Pooh Richardson, missed a 3-point shot with 15 seconds left.

“I wouldn’t mind him shooting it except that he was covered,” Harrick said. “I would have rather (he) passed it and got an open shot.”

Harrick would have rather seen a lot of things happen differently in a loss that he believed could have easily been averted.

Notre Dame outrebounded UCLA, 38-19, pulling down 18 on the offensive end, and the Irish bench outscored UCLA’s, 19-8.

“I think a lot of that was our lackadaisical attitude,” UCLA’s Trevor Wilson said of the glaring disparity in rebounds. “We didn’t play real good help-side defense and we got caught in a bad position a lot. That allowed them to get a lot of easy shots.”

Wilson, who led the Pacific 10 Conference in rebounding last season as a sophomore, had only 2 rebounds, his lowest total since he also had only 2 against Wyoming in the last game of his freshman season.

UCLA’s starting front line of Wilson, Don MacLean and Kevin Walker got only 12 rebounds; front-line reserves Charles Rochelin and Keith Owens contributed only 1 each.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s Keith Robinson, making only his second start, had 18 points and 9 rebounds, and freshman LaPhonso Ellis played his best game of the season, making 12 of 16 shots, scoring a game-high 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, including 6 on the offensive end.

“He’s big, he’s strong and he attacks the basket aggressively,” Pooh Richardson said of the 6-foot 9-inch, 238-pound Ellis.

The implication, of course, was that UCLA did not.

Still, the Bruins shot out to a 21-10 lead as Walker scored all of his 13 points in the first 9 1/2 minutes, making 4 of 4 shots, including 3 3-pointers.

UCLA increased its lead to 35-22 on a pair of driving layups by Martin, who also finished with 13 points. But after a wrap-around pass by Martin resulted in a turnover, Harrick pulled the freshman guard.

Coincidently or not, Notre Dame then scored 11 straight points as UCLA turned the ball over 4 of 5 times down the court.

Included in the spurt was a jumper by freshman Elmer Bennett, who had 10 points and 3 assists off the bench, and a 3-point play by reserve forward Kevin Ellery, who made 3 of 4 shots and scored 7 points.

“Those were the guys who lit the spark,” Notre Dame Coach Digger Phelps said of Bennett and Ellery. “I just thought we hit them with people they didn’t expect to be on the floor.

“I told the kids this morning, ‘Our first 10 players are better than their first 10 players, and that’s what’s going to win for us.’ ”

The Irish caught and passed the Bruins early in the second half, but a 9-0 run by UCLA put the Bruins back ahead, 63-55, with 9:44 left.

During the ensuing 12-1 spurt by Notre Dame, Robinson scored 8 points, and MacLean, who led UCLA with 18 points, missed a driving layup that, had it gone in, might have stalled the Irish momentum.

“I’m very disappointed,” Harrick said, sounding very much like a father who had expected his kids to bring home better grades.

Bruin Notes

Notre Dame Coach Digger Phelps would still like to play UCLA twice each season, and he met this week with UCLA officials to discuss the possibility. However, Athletic Director Peter Dalis of UCLA said it was “improbable” that the Bruins would agree to such an arrangement. Said Dalis, amused by Phelps’ annual request for a second game: “Tell Digger we’ll play him twice if he joins the Pac-10.” UCLA and Notre Dame met twice for 12 seasons, but have met only once for the last 6 seasons, with Notre Dame winning 4 of the last 5 meetings. . . . Tony Rice, starting quarterback for Notre Dame’s national champion football team, was turned down by Phelps in his request to try out for the basketball team. . . . UCLA will play Arizona State Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.