UCLA Loses Its Way Against Stanford : With Richardson, Wilson on Bench, Cardinal Dominates, 84-75

Even under the best of conditions, a victory over Stanford Saturday in the din of Maples Pavilion might have been too much to ask of the UCLA basketball team.

So, when Pooh Richardson and Trevor Wilson both experienced foul trouble, the Bruins’ chances seemed to rival those of the other networks hoping to win a ratings battle today against NBC’s telecast of the Super Bowl.

Stanford took advantage of the Bruins’ plight, pulling away with Richardson and Wilson on the bench for much of the first half and eventually winning, 84-75, before a sellout crowd of 7,500.

“When you’ve got Richardson and Wilson sitting down for the better part of the first half and you get down by 12, maybe that’s the end of the game,” conceded Jim Harrick, UCLA’s first-year coach. “When you come and take this job, you think of (coaching) Wilson and Richardson. And now we’re out there doing it with (freshman Darrick) Martin and some other kids . . . “

UCLA, which never led after the first few minutes, cut its deficit to 19-18 soon after Richardson was taken out of the game with 8 minutes 55 seconds left in the first half, having picked up his third foul.

Wilson was already on the bench, having been called for his third foul more than 7 minutes earlier.

By the time they returned, UCLA trailed, 42-30.

The Bruins pulled within 69-63 late in the second half, but Stanford then scored 7 straight points on a jumper and 2 free throws by guard Todd Lichti and a 3-point play by forward Howard Wright.

“We were scrambling the whole game,” Harrick said.

But, even before UCLA was forced to play much of the game without 2 of its best players, several factors worked against the Bruins:

--This was a must-win game for Stanford, which would have fallen 2 games behind Arizona in the Pacific 10 Conference race if it had lost.

--Stanford hoped to atone for an unexpected loss Thursday night to California, which ended the Cardinal’s 8-game winning streak.

--Stanford hasn’t lost in Maples Pavilion this season.

--Stanford was disappointed with a 74-70 loss at Pauley Pavilion last month that was the Cardinal’s 44th straight defeat by UCLA in Los Angeles.

The Cardinal was so confident it would end the streak last month that Bob Burnett, Stanford’s coach the last time the Cardinal won on the Bruins’ home court in 1952, was at Pauley Pavilion for the game.

The victory Saturday didn’t end any hexes, but it improved the Cardinal’s record to 14-4 overall and 6-2 in the Pac-10.

“Any time you lose, I think you re-assess where you are and what you have to do to be better,” Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said. “We wanted to re-establish ourselves.”

UCLA, which has lost 4 of its last 6 road games, is 10-5 and 5-2.

“I knew this would be a very, very difficult game to win even before the season started,” Harrick said.

It became nearly impossible to win under the conditions.

Lichti led Stanford with 18 points but missed the fifth of his seven free throws, ending a streak of 40 straight that had equaled a Pac-10 record.

Four other Stanford players scored in double figures, including Wright, who had 17 points. Eric Reveno and Terry Taylor each scored 12 points, and Andrew Vlahov had 10 points and 6 assists.

Vlahov also was credited by Montgomery with keeping the ball away from UCLA’s Don MacLean in the second half.

Said Harrick of Vlahov, a 6-foot 7-inch, 220-pound sophomore: “They should rush (him) onto a plane so he can play (today) for the 49ers.”

MacLean led the Bruins with 20 points but scored only 7 on 2-of-3 shooting in the second half. Wilson scored 16 of his 17 points in the second half, making 6 of 8 shots in the last 20 minutes.

Martin had 15 points and 6 assists, taking control of the offense in the absence of Richardson, who fouled out with 7:11 left.

“It might have been Pooh Richardson’s toughest effort all year long,” Harrick said of the senior guard, who finished with a season-low 6 points and a season-low 2 assists.

It may have been one of the Bruins’ toughest, too.

Even the Bruin mascot was mauled at halftime by the Stanford tree. Several Bruin cheerleaders came to his rescue.

No one was there to save the Bruins.

Bruin Notes

At this point last season, UCLA was 6-9. . . . Don MacLean, whose 3-point shot pulled UCLA within 67-61 in the second half, did not attempt a 3-point shot in the Bruins’ first 14 games. . . . Pooh Richardson also fouled out 2 weeks ago against Oregon State. “That’s going to happen when you’re trying to guard (Todd) Lichti,” Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said of Richardson’s most recent disqualification.