Frigid-Shooting UCLA Falters Up Front, 83-74

UCLA’s most glaring weakness is its lack of a powerful center. Usually, however, the Bruins are able to compensate.

But when they make only 39.2% of their shots, as they did Saturday in an 83-74 loss to Arizona in front of 13,627 in the McKale Center, their weaknesses magnify.

Arizona extended the nation’s longest home winning streak to 44 games and handed UCLA its fourth loss in its last six road games.

The Bruins, who dropped into third place in the Pacific 10 Conference, hadn’t shot so poorly since their opener Nov. 25, when they made 37.3% of their shots in a 66-62 victory over Santa Clara.

“We didn’t play well, but we had enough (open) shots to do what we needed to do,” Coach Jim Harrick said. “They just didn’t fall.”

If they had, UCLA might not have fallen behind so quickly in the second half and been forced to abandon a zone defense that contained the Wildcats’ front line last month in a 73-67 Bruin victory at Pauley Pavilion. And Arizona’s 7-foot Ed Stokes, 6-11 Brian Williams and 6-11 reserve Sean Rooks might not have combined for 50 points, 25 rebounds and 66.7% shooting.

Rooks made eight of 12 shots, scoring a career-high 24 points and taking nine rebounds in only 21 minutes.

“He’s a big, strong horse,” Harrick said.

But last month at UCLA, the sophomore from Fontana made one of six shots, scored four points and took three rebounds in 24 minutes.

“I knew I had to play more intense than I have at times this season,” said Rooks, who has been the target of Coach Lute Olson’s wrath more than once and indicated two months ago that he might transfer.

“Sometimes I get down on myself, but I knew I had to take it up another level.”

Olson rotated his big men in the lineup, keeping them fresh, and Williams responded by scoring 12 points in 22 minutes. Stokes had 14 points and nine rebounds.

“It’s tough to play them when their big men are on,” UCLA’s Don MacLean said. “They have so many of them. They keep rotating them in and out. They were fresh. And maybe we were a little tired.”

MacLean and point guard Darrick Martin were the only effective Bruins. MacLean scored 26 points and took 14 rebounds; Martin scored 14 points and had seven assists.

But MacLean, after scoring 17 points in the first half, faced a box-and-one defense in the second and was held without a point during a 17-4 run by Arizona that wiped out a one-point Bruin lead and put the Wildcats ahead to stay, 52-39, with 12:15 left.

Midway through, Harrick switched to a man-to-man defense in an effort to change the tempo and spark the Bruins, but Arizona maintained its advantage.

The Wildcats were able to concentrate on stopping MacLean, assigning Jud Buechler to tail him, because starters Trevor Wilson, Tracy Murray and Gerald Madkins were a combined nine of 38 from the field.

Madkins missed all six of his attempts and center Murray, who had made 61.3% of his shots since moving into the starting lineup last month, missed 14 of 18.

“They told me to keep shooting, so I kept shooting,” said Murray, who missed six of eight three-point attempts.

Wilson scored 12 points, but 11 came after Arizona had built its 13-point second-half lead. He missed his first seven shots before scoring on a tip-in with 10:45 remaining.

“I’m disappointed in myself,” said Wilson, who collided with Stokes in the first half and had a welt under his left eye afterward.

“It’s really disappointing. We had a chance to win, but we didn’t execute.”

Arizona made 42.4% of its attempts. But Buechler, despite making only five of 18 shots, scored 17 points and took 13 rebounds. And Matt Othick, who made only one of eight shots, had eight assists and no turnovers despite playing on sprained ankles.

Bruin Notes

Arizona improved to 16-4 overall and 10-3 in the Pac-10, moving into second place behind Oregon State, which will risk its 10-1 conference record against Oregon today at Corvallis, Ore. UCLA is 16-5 and 9-3. . . . No team has made more than 47.3% of its shots against Arizona, which has limited its opponents to 39% shooting. “To go through 20 games without anybody (shooting) over 50% is testimony to the fact that our guys work very hard and that you’re going to have to do some other things to beat us,” Wildcat Coach Lute Olson said. . . . Arizona’s top big men--Ed Stokes, Brian Williams and Sean Rooks--are from Southern California. Stokes is from Playa del Rey; Williams is from Santa Monica and Rooks is from Fontana.

Don MacLean’s 26 points increased his career total to 1,003 in 52 games. Only two Bruins, Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton, reached 1,000 points faster. . . . In UCLA’s last seven games, MacLean is averaging 21.9 points and 11.9 rebounds. . . . Said Arizona’s Jud Buechler, who guarded All-American Danny Ferry of Duke last season: “I don’t want to say (MacLean is) at that level yet, but he’s similar.”

Williams, on the Bruins: “I don’t want to say they’re haughty or arrogant because they’re a good bunch of guys, but once they step on the basketball court, it seems at times they get very emotional and borderline defensive.”