Tarver Scores 27 for Bruins in 92-80 Exhibition Victory

Shon Tarver scored 27 points and Ed O’Bannon had 16 points and seven rebounds Wednesday night in helping UCLA defeat the Melbourne Tigers, 92-80, in an exhibition at Pauley Pavilion.

More surprising was the play of George Zidek, a 7-foot, 245-pound sophomore reserve center from Prague, Czechoslovakia, who scored 14 points in 22 minutes, making all but one of his seven shots.

Zidek, who played only 66 minutes last season, is probably the Bruins’ most improved player. He participated in Pete Newell’s big man camp last August and was UCLA’s leading rebounder during a nine-game tour of Italy.

“He has improved tremendously,” said Coach Jim Harrick, whose team will open the regular season against St. Louis on Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion in the first round of the preseason National Invitation Tournament.

“He had a nice trip to Italy with us . . . and really was a force. I thought he gained a lot of confidence. He’s surprising me.

“After tonight, I think he’s going to do a lot of playing.”