UCLA Gets Lift Out of Ending Skid at 5 Games

Twenty-five times, Washington State has visited UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, and 25 times the Cougars have lost. They were in town again Thursday--whew, just in time.

Ending its longest losing streak in 42 years, UCLA defeated Washington State, 96-89, Thursday night before 7,267 at Pauley Pavilion.

While it wasn’t the type of accomplishment that is usually celebrated in Westwood--Washington State has lost a school-record 16 consecutive games and has never beaten UCLA in 33 games in Los Angeles, eight predating Pauley--it nevertheless provided a lift to the Bruins after five losses in a row.

“Now I can walk around campus and hold my head up high,” Gerald Madkins said. “I don’t have to worry about people laughing or frowning behind my back. Let’s put it this way: All my friends are back.”

UCLA hadn’t won in three weeks, falling to fifth place in the Pacific 10 Conference and putting itself in danger of missing the NCAA tournament.

The victory pulled the Bruins back into a tie for fourth place with Oregon and improved their record to 17-9 overall and 10-7 in the Pac-10.

Is the monkey off their back?

“No,” Coach Jim Harrick said, “but I’d rather win than lose. I’d rather be ahead than not. It’s something we needed to have. I’ve said all along that there wasn’t anything wrong that a few wins wouldn’t cure.”

Or that a visit from the last-place Cougars wouldn’t expedite.

The Bruins made 60% of their shots as Don MacLean scored 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting, Tracy Murray scored 20 on eight-of-14 shooting, and Madkins matched a career high with 20 points on six-of-nine shooting.

Madkins, who made only 13 of 36 shots in UCLA’s losing streak, credited a new pair of contact lenses for his improved accuracy. He made a career-high five three-point shots in eight attempts after making only three of 19 since Jan. 21, when he made four of five and scored 20 points against California.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever had them,” he said of his contact lenses. “I’ve really shied away from them in the past, but my grandfather made the suggestion. He had seen me shoot (on television) and I had missed a shot terribly. He said, ‘Son, why don’t you wear your glasses to the game?’ ”

Madkins told him that was impractical, but when Ervin suggested contacts, Madkins said he thought, “I’m in a slump, so why not give it a try?”

He picked them up Monday and wore them in practice all week.

His shooting helped the Bruins overcome an eight-point first-half deficit and take a two-point halftime lead, which they increased to as many as 14 points in the second half as MacLean scored 18 points after halftime.

Darryl Woods led Washington State with 27 points.

“We had a little meeting of the minds at halftime,” Harrick said. “We’ve got to put everything behind us and go on.”

Against the Cougars, they did.

Bruin Notes

If UCLA doesn’t land a berth in the NCAA tournament, would the Bruins be in favor of accepting a bid to the National Invitation Tournament? “I’m sure our guys would want to play,” Coach Jim Harrick said this week. “You come to college to play basketball.” But said one player: “I wouldn’t want to go. The NIT is very anticlimactic, as far as I’m concerned. It would be really hard to get motivated to play in those games.” And said another: “To go to the NIT is like a slap in the face.”

Harrick, on the Bruins’ chances of making the NCAA tournament: “I think 18-9 puts us in a position to be considered very highly--and I don’t think on the bubble.” UCLA is ranked among the top 40 in most polls. “That’s certainly not on the bubble,” Harrick said. . . . Will senior Kevin Walker start Sunday against Washington in his final game in Pauley Pavilion? “I probably doubt that,” Harrick said. “The game’s too important to us.”

UCLA’s Darrick Martin matched a career high with 11 assists. . . . UCLA’s Trevor Wilson scored seven points, failing to reach double figures for the first time since last February, when he scored four points against Washington State.