Madkins ‘Just Lost It’ After Bruins Won It

UCLA guard Gerald Madkins was overcome with emotion after the Bruins ended Arizona’s 71-game home winning streak by beating the No. 6 Wildcats, 89-87, at McKale Center Saturday.

Madkins fell to the court and writhed in ecstasy after the second-ranked Bruins ended the longest current winning streak in college basketball.

“I just lost it,” Madkins said of his wild celebration.

“I felt bad after I got up because I’d heard that you should act like you’ve won before. But I was just so overwhelmed with emotion. People have just got to excuse me because it’s hard to win in this place. After I came to my senses, I went over and tried to congratulate the guys from Arizona that were left.

“I still can’t believe it. I’m so physically drained that I feel like I’m on cloud 39 and not cloud nine.”

What was Madkins thinking as he rolled on the floor?

“Everything was going through my mind,” Madkins said. “I was thinking about going 16-14 as a freshman (in 1987-88). I was thinking about how they acted toward us when (Arizona All-American forward) Sean Elliott scored 38 points against us (in a 1989 game) to break Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar’s Pac-10 career scoring record).

“Every time we come here, the fans are really hospitable until the game starts, and then they get after us. It’s just great to let them see how it feels to witness a defeat in McKale. Let’s see if they can be as gracious in losing as they are in winning.”

Playing in his first game since breaking his left hand Dec. 14 against San Diego State, Madkins had hoped to play 15 minutes. Although he had only one day of practice, Madkins wound up playing 28 minutes as a reserve, scoring a season-high 11 points, getting two assists and grabbing three rebounds. He also had two steals.

“My adrenaline kept me from thinking about my hand,” Madkins said. “The adrenaline took the pain away totally. Coach (Jim) Harrick wasn’t going to ask me to come out, and I wasn’t going to ask him if I could come out. Even if I was hurting, I wasn’t going to tell him I was.”

Madkins, whose cast was removed Friday, played with a piece of foam wrapped around his hand, which was heavily taped. Trainers taped a large bag of ice to his hand after the game.

“I couldn’t be afraid to re-injure my hand,” Madkins said. “I just went out there and cleared my head and didn’t think about the injury and played Gerald Madkins defense.”

UCLA’s best defensive player, Madkins contained Arizona forward Chris Mills for the final 14 1/2 minutes. With Madkins tightly checking him, Mills, who had 25 points, didn’t score a basket in the final 14:22 as the Bruins overcame a six-point second-half deficit.

Wearing a black and silver Raider jacket and a bejeweled black Dodger hat, Mills visited the UCLA locker room to congratulate Madkins and the Bruins.

“I think their whole team played well,” Mills said.

Madkins tried to downplay his defensive effort against Mills.

“It’s nothing different,” he said. “I did it against (Indiana forward) Calbert Cheaney, and I try to do it against (USC guard) Harold Miner. I don’t change anything.

“I’m not a great athlete, but I have a big heart and I’ll do whatever it takes to win, even if it means shutting down Chris Mills. He’s a great athlete, and we’re good friends. But when we’re out on the court it’s just me against him. He beat me a couple of times, but for the most part I think I contained him.”

UCLA’s Darrick Martin, who took the winning shot with three seconds remaining, said Madkins wouldn’t let Mills get open.

“I think Gerald may be ready to guard Air Jordan,” Martin said. “His defense is probably the best in the nation. I play against him in practice every day, and it’s hell trying to score against him. He gets right into you both physically and mentally. He plays head games with you.”

UCLA forward Don MacLean, who led the Bruins with a season-high 38 points, said Madkins’ return gave the Bruins a psychological lift.

“The way Mills started out, it looked like he was going to have 40,” MacLean said. “But Gerald came in and did a great job on Mills.”

Madkins, who hit his first shot, made four of seven shots, including two three-point shots. With UCLA trailing, 58-52, Madkins hit a three-point shot off a pass from Martin with 13:48 remaining to ignite a 7-0 burst.

“They gave me a scholarship to hit those shots,” Madkins said. “If I don’t hit it, people start looking over at me thinking about revoking it.”