When Going Gets Tough, Bruins Get a Bit Tougher : College basketball: UCLA turns up heat in second half and pulls away from Stanford, 88-77.

It was 40 minutes of crunch time. And body-slam time. And crash time.

When the bashing was over, the UCLA Bruins were battered and bruised, but also bouncing around the Maples Pavilion floor with an 88-77 victory, their seventh in a row.

Facing their most punishing 40 minutes all season in the heart of their most physically demanding stretch of games, the Bruins absorbed every shot the Stanford Cardinal players threw at them, then swung back with a few of their own.

With the No. 1 ranking presumably theirs if they can get through this week unscathed, the second-ranked Bruins got marathon performances out of four players to beat No. 19 Stanford before an estimated 7,500.

Ed O’Bannon, who played the entire second half, led the way with 22 points, nine rebounds, five assists, a career-high five blocked shots and three steals. Ed and Charles O’Bannon played 38 minutes. Tyus Edney and Toby Bailey played 37.

Also, UCLA, 19-2 overall and 12-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference, threw a 2-3 zone at the Cardinal in the second half, creating several turnovers down the stretch and holding Stanford to 40% field-goal shooting. The victory also increased UCLA’s lead in the conference to 2 1/2 games over the Arizona schools.

“I thought we were having trouble getting through some screens,” UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said of going to the matchup zone. “I wanted to try it. I thought it paralyzed them just a little bit.”

Harrick changed things up in his starting lineup, replacing 6-foot-9 J.R. Henderson with 6-5 Bailey, mostly, Harrick said, to put more defensive pressure on Cardinal shooter Dion Cross.

Cross scored 16 points but made only two of his seven three-point shots. In another key defensive matchup, Ed O’Bannon was switched over to forward Andy Poppink after Poppink scored 17 first-half points. Poppink finished with 23.

“They went small, which actually hurt us,” Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said. “We kind of went flat.”

Henderson ended up playing 27 minutes anyway, including a crucial stretch in which he outplayed 7-1 center Tim Young in the second half and provided the Bruins with seven points during the run that put them ahead for good.

“I didn’t want to say anything, but I didn’t feel like chasing (Cross) around anyway,” Henderson, who scored 19 points, said after the game. “He goes off too many picks.”

Henderson, who has started at guard most of this season, said he enjoyed playing Young--like he enjoys playing all bigger players.

“When I have a big guy, I can take him inside, get a few moves, then I take him outside and they don’t know what I’m going to do,” Henderson said. “That’s when I have him where I want him.”

Bailey and Edney also played all of the second half.

Was Harrick worried that, after last weekend’s two emotional victories over the Arizona schools, his players would wind down after only one day of rest?

“Our guys are in great, great condition,” Harrick said. “You tell me they played all those minutes after one day rest, I don’t really care. It was a great effort.”

Stanford had a 47-44 lead after a physical first half, but UCLA opened up a quick 54-49 lead after the break.

Then UCLA center George Zidek picked up his third and fourth fouls, forcing Henderson to defend Young.

Stanford (16-6, 7-6) immediately took advantage on the offensive boards, tying the score at 58 with rugged play underneath by Young, Darren Allaway and Poppink.

But, by the 7:44 mark, Henderson’s quickness on the offensive side and the Bruins’ switch to the zone lifted them to a 68-64 lead.

Stanford closed it to 68-66 on Poppink’s follow shot for his 22nd and 23rd points of the game. But UCLA’s zone continued to hobble the Cardinal offense, and consecutive steals by Henderson and Charles O’Bannon--and a three-point basket by Charles in transition--pushed UCLA to a 71-66 lead with about five minutes left.

In one flattening first-half collision, the 230-pound Allaway leaned his shoulder in as Charles O’Bannon was chasing Cross across the key. O’Bannon crumpled to the floor as Cross fired in a three-point basket.

Poppink, who led all first-half scorers with 17 points, and Cross, were a combined 11 for 18 from the field in the first 20 minutes and helped the Cardinal to a 33-25 lead late in the first half.

But UCLA was playing at a high-octane level also, including one alley-oop slam from Bailey on a half-court pass from Ed O’Bannon, and a length-of-the-court drive and layup by Henderson.

Harrick reacted quickly when asked about the prospect of moving to the top of the rankings.

“Don’t want it,” he said. “The head that wears the crown is very shaky.”

Pac-10 Standings

Tuesday’s victory over Stanford gives UCLA a 2 1/2-game lead with four conference games remaining:

CONFERENCE OVERALL Team W L W L UCLA 12 2 19 2 Arizona 9 4 19 6 Arizona State 9 4 19 6 Washington State 8 5 14 8 Oregon 7 5 15 6 Stanford 7 6 16 6 California 4 8 12 9 Oregon State 3 9 6 15 Washington 3 10 7 14 USC 2 11 7 16

AROUND THE NATION: Ray Allen matched his career high with 31 points and No. 4 Connecticut used a 19-2 run early in the second half to defeat Boston College for the 15th time in a row, 88-75. C5