Bruins’ First Defeat Is Cold to the Touch : UCLA: Iowa goes from 66-66 tie to 88-71 victory as Harrick’s club fails to capitalize on fast breaks and free throws.

It had been 39 years since UCLA last played at Iowa. And after what happened to the fifth-ranked Bruins this weekend, it probably will be at least that long before they return.

On Friday, because of inclement weather in the Midwest, it took them almost 17 hours to make the trip from Westwood to Iowa City, a journey that in better weather would ordinarily take less than half as long.

And on Saturday night, it took them less than six minutes to go from unbeaten to 88-71 losers against an Iowa team that outscored them, 22-5, in the last 5:41--after UCLA pulled even at 66-66.

The Bruins were abysmal in the first half and trailed by eight points, but they patiently played their way back into the game by making 12 of their first 13 shots and 15 of their first 19 in the second half. However, they went cold down the stretch, missing their last 11.

In losing for the first time in nine games, UCLA seemed to lose its patience, abandoning its offense in the closing minutes.

“It seemed like some guys lost their heads,” junior forward Don MacLean said of the Bruins. “We just didn’t do the things we’d been doing to make us a good team and it really hurt us.”

Unranked Iowa, winning its eighth consecutive game since a loss at Notre Dame last month, improved to 9-1 in front of a capacity crowd of 15,500. They saw Hawkeye center Acie Earl play the game of his life.

A 6-foot-10 sophomore, Earl had 30 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, making nine of 16 shots and 12 of 15 free throws.

UCLA’s top front-line reserve, senior Keith Owens, fouled out in only 13 minutes as he attempted to guard Earl, who fell one point short of his career high, established last week against Maryland Baltimore County.

Inside defense is UCLA’s weakness and the Hawkeyes knew it.

“We just tried to take the ball to the basket from all positions because we knew they were foul-prone and didn’t really want to play a lot of defense,” Earl said. “We thought if we could get them in foul trouble, they might get a little hesitant.”

MacLean was unimpressed.

“They let him push off,” MacLean said. “They called cheap little fouls (against UCLA) and we couldn’t get a call. He’s a pretty good player, but he’s not as good as he played tonight.”

Guard James Moses, a junior from Serra High in Gardena, scored 14 points for Iowa and guard Val Barnes added 12. Forward Jay Webb, a sophomore from San Jose who was recruited by UCLA, had 10 points and seven rebounds.

MacLean led UCLA with 18 points, making nine of 14 shots, but when asked to assess the play of his leading scorer, Coach Jim Harrick said: “Not very good at all. He had a little streak there where he got a couple of baskets, but he wasn’t jumping or running or rebounding, or quick defensively.”

The same could be said of almost all of the Bruins.

They made only 41.3% of their shots and had 14 turnovers in the first half, which ended with Iowa leading, 39-31. According to Harrick’s figures, UCLA failed to convert on 16 of 24 fast-break opportunities in the half.

“We just weren’t the same tonight,” Harrick said. “We weren’t even close to being the same team. You could blame Iowa, but you can’t blame Iowa for 16 missed transitions in the first half. They weren’t even around--they were three-on-twos and two-on-ones and we didn’t finish them.”

Iowa, though, wasn’t much better. In a sloppily played first half, the Hawkeyes made only 42.1% of their shots but opened the eight-point lead with a 9-2 run at the end of the half.

UCLA fought back but missed an opportunity to take the lead when Darrick Martin missed two free throws with 8:13 left. In the previous minute, teammates Zan Mason and Gerald Madkins missed the front end in one-and-one situations, so Martin wasn’t alone in failing to convert.

Finally, the Bruins caught up on a three-point shot by Tracy Murray, whose bomb from the right corner made it 66-66.

But after a timeout, the 6-8 Webb scored on a follow shot to put Iowa back ahead--to stay, as it turned out.

UCLA came down and Murray quickly fired up a three-point attempt that missed. Kevin Smith scored on a short bank shot for Iowa and, at the other end, Murray again missed a three-point attempt.

Martin missed another free throw and Earl scored on a jumper.

Murray made two free throws with three minutes left to pull UCLA to within 75-71, but the Bruins didn’t score again.

Earl scored eight of the Hawkeyes’ last 18 points.

Defeated and discouraged, UCLA headed into the frigid night.

Bruin Notes

Tracy Murray had 15 points and a season-high 11 rebounds, but made only five of 14 shots, including two of eight three-point attempts. . . . UCLA made 45.8% of its shots, its worst shooting of the season. Iowa made 41.2%. . . . Since losing to Arizona in the 1987-88 season, Iowa has won 25 consecutive games against nonconference opponents in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Don MacLean missed his only free throw. He has attempted fewer free throws only once in 73 games at UCLA--in a 104-78 loss at North Carolina two years ago. . . . Starting forward Mitchell Butler scored seven points, playing only 15 minutes for the second time in three games. In UCLA’s last three games, he has 18 points and nine rebounds. . . . Freshman reserve guard Shon Tarver scored a season-low two points in a season-high 26 minutes, making one of five shots.

Coach Jim Harrick, upset with the officiating, met with referee Ed Hightower in front of the scorer’s table with about 15 minutes left. What was Harrick doing? “Wishing him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,” Harrick said. “I’ve known him for a long time.” . . . Harrick disagreed with several traveling calls that were made against the Bruins.

UCLA hadn’t played a Big Ten opponent since 1985, when it beat Indiana in New York to win the National Invitation Tournament. . . . Iowa Coach Tom Davis on the Bruins: “If they have a weakness, it’s that they don’t have (Dikembe) Mutombo or Shaquille O’Neal in the post, but not many of us do, so we’re all somewhat vulnerable in there. If there’s one area where Coach Harrick is concerned, I’m sure it’s in the middle.”