Mr. Outside Goes Inside; Bruins Win

At 5 feet 9 inches and 145 pounds, Tyus Edney is the last player UCLA Coach Jim Harrick expects to make his presence felt underneath the basket.

So what was Edney, a sophomore point guard, doing leading the Bruins in rebounds Sunday in a 97-90 Pacific 10 Conference victory over Oregon?

“Doing whatever we needed to win,” he said.

Edney had 10 rebounds, 18 points, six assists and no turnovers as UCLA (16-7 overall, 6-5 in the Pac-10) won its second game in a row.

Considering that 6-10 center Richard Petruska, 6-9 reserve Rodney Zimmerman and 7-foot reserve Jiri Zidek combined for eight rebounds, it was quite an effort for the Bruins’ smallest player.

Edney, on his 20th birthday, could not recall another game when he rebounded so effectively.

“That was the most . . . ever,” said his father, Hank.

Edney’s performance was but one of the UCLA’s highlights before 6,861 at Pauley Pavilion. The most noticeable was Shon Tarver’s 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting and eight of nine free throws.

Tarver, whose 24-foot shot with five seconds left lifted UCLA to a one-point victory over Oregon State on Thursday night, was overpowering against Oregon.

“He’s an NBA player,” Coach Jerry Green of Oregon said.

UCLA’s guards made it difficult for Oregon (7-16, 0-11), but the Ducks did not fold, despite trailing by as many as 14 points with 15 minutes remaining.

UCLA’s front-line defense collapsed when it appeared the Bruins would win in a rout.

Playing against the conference’s weakest team, UCLA had the ability, if not the shear physical presence, to overwhelm Oregon. Instead, the Bruins fell into their characteristic lapse once they built a commanding lead.

When Oregon started rallying, UCLA compounded its problem by making silly turnovers and taking impatient shots.

After building the 14-point lead with a crisp, up-tempo game, the Bruins’ sporadic play was unveiled. Several players called it a lack of communication on defense.

Oregon outscored UCLA, 14-3, in about three minutes. Antoine Stoudamire’s layup at 11:33 cut UCLA’s lead to 66-63.

“We should have put them away, but they kept fighting back,” said Ed O’Bannon, a sophomore forward.

The Bruins never really regained control until the end. And then only because Tarver scored six points and Edney four in the final 2:55.

Oregon played well behind Stoudamire, a 6-5 senior guard who had 25 points and six rebounds. Another guard, Orlando Williams, scored 19 points, including five three-point shots that gave the Ducks’ a big boost.

Green, in his first season at Oregon, was not entirely frustrated by the loss.

“They keep working hard,” he said of his team. “They deserve to win one.”

UCLA, which is challenging for an NCAA tournament berth, needs to plug the gaps in its defense if it plans to continue play after the regular season. In victories over Oregon State and Oregon this weekend, the Bruins gave up too many uncontested layups.

“Our inside defense was disappointing,” Harrick said.

Bruin Notes

Coach Jerry Green of Oregon said he woke up with a throbbing knee Sunday. He had to remain seated during the game. Green said he does not know how he hurt his knee, but believes he might have torn some cartilage. . . . Ed O’Bannon, who had 18 points and seven rebounds, has a sore calf muscle that he wrapped after the game. The pain limited his mobility, but he is expected to continue playing. “There’s something new every day,” he said. “I’ve never had so many injuries as this year.”

Mitchell Butler, the Bruins’ senior forward, said his condition improved after he missed much of the second half against Oregon State because of stomach problems. Butler said he thinks something he ate made him nauseated. He had eight assists. . . . Shon Tarver’s 29 points equaled a career high. He scored 29 against Oral Roberts in December of 1991. . . . Antoine Stoudamire’s 25 points marked the fifth consecutive game he has scored at least 20.