Bruins Finally Take It Seriously : College basketball: UCLA tightens its defense, cruises to 106-80 victory over Loyola.

It took a little longer than expected, but third-ranked UCLA finally put away Loyola Marymount Friday night in the second half of a 106-80 victory before 8,217 at Pauley Pavilion.

What took so long?

“We were really lethargic in some areas, but they’re hard to play,” UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said of the run-and-gun Lions. “They play a different kind of style than anybody in America.”

But they didn’t play it well enough to beat UCLA--not after the Bruins realized they might not win if they didn’t defend.

“At halftime, the coaches came in and got on us a little bit about our defense,” Bruin forward Don MacLean said. “We figured they’re so wild and they just jack up so many shots, we didn’t have to play defense--we just had to rebound and get it out and go.

“Once we brought our defense to the forefront and really started getting into them, we handled them pretty easily.”

After Loyola (5-4) opened the second half with an 8-0 run, cutting its deficit to 56-51, Harrick brought Tyus Edney and Mitchell Butler off the bench and watched the Bruins take control.

Tracy Murray led UCLA (5-0) with a season-high 27 points, making 11 of 15 shots, and Shon Tarver scored 18 points on eight-of-10 shooting, giving him 54 points in two games, and had a career-high six assists.

MacLean, returning to the lineup after sitting out last week’s 84-64 victory over San Diego State because of flu, had a season-high 24 points and 12 rebounds and, early in the game, joined Lew Alcindor and Reggie Miller as the only Bruins to score 2,000 points in their college careers.

But Harrick called Edney and Butler “the difference in the game” because of the way they sparked the Bruins’ defensive effort.

Butler had a hand in limiting Loyola’s Terrell Lowery to 11 points, combining with Tarver in harassing the Lions’ leading scorer into another forgettable shooting night in Westwood. After making only five of 25 shots in a 51-point loss to UCLA last season, he made four of 17 this time.

Edney equaled a school record with seven steals.

Loyola Coach Jay Hillock hoped his team would be more competitive against UCLA than it was last season, when it was overwhelmed by the Bruins, 149-98, on a night when Loyola was playing its third game in as many days.

“I think we won’t be nearly as fatigued or as tired,” Hillock said before the game. “We had no preparation (for last season’s game). We had kids falling asleep on the bus (ride) up there.

“That’s the good news--that we’re more rested and we’ve had some preparation time. The bad news is that UCLA is much better than it was a year ago.

“There’s more stability. They’re getting much better point guard play. They’re a year more mature.”

UCLA didn’t appear better as Loyola opened a 24-21 lead despite the absence of forward Brian McCloskey, its leading rebounder and No. 2 scorer. McCloskey was sidelined after suffering a sprained ankle during practice Thursday.

Sloppy on the offensive end, the Bruins were lax on defense.

Even as they put together a 19-3 run, ignited by Edney, to take a 40-27 lead, the crowd seemed anxious.

“These guys (stink), Bruins,” one exasperated fan cried.

The Lions hung tough.

For discriminating Bruin fans, the highlight of the first half was a brief appearance near the end by Mike Lanier, a 7-6 transfer from Hardin-Simmons who has become a crowd favorite in Westwood.

Lanier blocked a shot by Loyola’s 6-1 point guard, Tony Walker, pressured 6-7 forward Wyking Jones into a traveling violation simply by towering over him and scored on a tip-in, his only shot of the half.

Still, the Bruins couldn’t shake the Lions.

Loyola cut into its 56-43 halftime deficit by opening the second half with its 8-0 run, but UCLA then answered with a 14-4 run of its own.

A dunk by Lanier gave UCLA its 99th and 100th points.

Bruin Notes

UCLA’s Ed O’Bannon, still recuperating from his third knee operation in slightly more than a year, will be allowed to participate in more intense shooting drills starting next week, team physician Gerald Finerman said, but still has not been cleared to practice with his teammates. Finerman said that O’Bannon’s progress will be evaluated on a weekly basis.

Spanning the globe: The Bruins, whose roster next season will include two Czechs and a Texan of Nigerian descent, have lately shown an interest in Gavin Vanderputten, a 6-foot-10 foreign-exchange student from Perth, Australia, who is averaging about 26 points and 10 rebounds at Trabuco Hills High. Nicknamed the Thunder from Down Under, Vanderputten has told reporters that he is considering several schools, including UCLA.

Zan Mason transferred last summer from UCLA to Loyola, which is only a few blocks from Westchester High, his alma mater. “Everyone knows him from his high school days,” Loyola Coach Jay Hillock said. “He was in one of the local restaurants on a date and three people told me, ‘Hey, we saw Zan.’ He can’t hide out.” Mason, who averaged less fewer than 10 minutes at UCLA, will be eligible next season.