Perfection Denied, but UCLA Wins

UCLA made all but one of its 28 free throws Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion, failing to equal an NCAA record in a 94-74 victory over San Diego State only because Tracy Murray missed a free throw with 1:37 left.

“I wanted it back as soon as I let it go,” Murray said.

UCLA was happy to accept the victory, which improved the Bruin record to 10-1 going into their Pacific 10 Conference opener against USC (8-1) Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion.

It didn’t come without a struggle.

UCLA’s lead was only three points with 6 1/2 minutes left.

“I thought San Diego really did a great job of scouting us and preparing for us and came in here to win,” UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said. “Defensively, they were very well prepared and caught us off-guard a lot.”

Thursday night, after Fresno State was blown out in the second half of a 110-89 loss to the Bruins, Bulldog Coach Gary Colson said the odds of an unranked team winning at Pauley Pavilion were “about 25 to 1.”

The odds are long, San Diego State’s Jim Brandenburg agreed.

But not that long.

“I don’t think you can put a number on it,” Brandenburg said before the game. “Obviously, UCLA is a good basketball team, but if we play well enough, we’ve got a chance to win. If we don’t, we’ll pay the price.

“If we can play good enough defense and we can rebound and make sound offensive decisions, we’ve got a chance to win.”

The Aztecs then went out and did almost everything Brandenburg had asked of them, outrebounding the Bruins, 32-21, shooting 53.4% and slowing the game to a pace more to their liking.

“They took us out of a lot of things and made us impatient,” Harrick said. “They really hustled, especially on the boards. I can’t even remember us getting an offensive rebound.”

San Diego State (5-5) took an 11-5 lead, only to see it disappear during a 4:13 stretch when UCLA put together a 10-0 run.

The Bruins never trailed again, but San Diego State kept it close, using a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 69-66 with 6:45 left.

Sensing that they were in a tight spot, the Bruins went to their leading scorer, 6-foot-10 junior forward Don MacLean, who posted up San Diego State’s 7-1 center, Marty Dow, drew a foul and made two free throws.

On the other end, Dow fumbled a pass out of bounds.

UCLA’s Gerald Madkins made two free throws to increase the Bruin lead to 73-66, but San Diego State rallied again, getting a tipin from Dow and then stealing the Bruins’ inbounds pass.

Dow then put up an air ball from about 10 feet out and Brandenburg, believing that his center had been fouled by MacLean, apparently protested too vehemently, drawing a technical foul.

MacLean made two free throws to start a 10-2 run and UCLA, which shot 56.9%, turned the last five minutes into a rout.

“I get the technical and then UCLA breaks it open,” said Brandenburg, recapping. “Our guy was getting hammered in there.”

Dow, who made only three of 17 shots in a 77-66 loss to USC this month at the Sports Arena, was much more of a factor against UCLA, making 12 of 19 shots, scoring 25 points and taking a game-high 10 rebounds.

“Dow played a tremendous game,” Harrick said, “but I knew he was good. He’s had pro scouts looking at him all year long.”

MacLean led UCLA with 31 points, making nine of 15 shots and all 13 of his free throws. Darrick Martin scored 16 points, making six of seven shots and all four of his free throws, and had five assists.

Bruin Notes

Tracy Murray had made all four of his free throws in the game, 31 of 35 this season, 14 in a row and 21 of 22 in UCLA’s last seven games before he missed. . . . According to the 1991 NCAA Record Book, UC Irvine made all 34 of its free throws in a game against Pacific on Feb. 21, 1981. . . . UCLA’s free-throw percentage of .964 was believed to be a school record. . . . The Bruins made their first 26 free throws, also believed to be a school record.

Coach Jim Harrick told the Bruins before the game: “I was watching television today and saw some team shoot 24 for 24 (from the line).” He didn’t tell them it was the Milwaukee Bucks. . . . UCLA will play two more nonconference games--against Louisville next Saturday and against Pittsburgh Feb. 2, both at Pauley Pavilion. . . . UCLA’s game against USC Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion is sold out. . . . One of San Diego State’s part-time assistant coaches is Jim Harrick Jr., who played for his father at Pepperdine. Shouted the UCLA student section whenever he stood: “Sit down, junior.”

UCLA will meet San Diego State next season at the San Diego Sports Arena, playing the Aztecs at San Diego for the first time in more than 50 years. . . . San Diego State’s Jim Brandenburg was the coach at Wyoming in 1987 when the Cowboys upset UCLA in the second round of the NCAA tournament.