Bruins Simply Needed a Break

To get to the second half Saturday afternoon at Freedom Hall, UCLA had to withstand itself the first 20 minutes and a “furious” Baron Davis had to unload on his teammates. To get to Louisville, JaRon Rush had to survive the white-knuckle flight from Los Angeles two days earlier that was so bad he refused to get on the plane for the final leg.

But it was worth the wait for the Bruins.

Playing with what Steve Lavin said was probably the greatest intensity in a half in his 2 1/2 seasons as coach, they got career highs in scoring from Davis and Earl Watson, a double-double from Jerome Moiso and an impressive recovery that led to an 82-70 victory over No. 24 Louisville before 19,987.

The 13th-ranked Bruins, interrupting Pacific 10 Conference play to continue the long-running series, improved to 14-4 as Davis had 25 points, Watson added 18 and Moiso had 17 points and 10 rebounds, along with two blocks and two steals.

A victory on the road over a regarded team--battered and bound for the land of the unranked as the Cardinals are after losing to Cincinnati by 26 on Thursday at home and the Bruins by 12--was all the more significant because of the circumstances.

UCLA was without starting center Dan Gadzuric, on the bench in street clothes and a walking boot to protect his sprained right ankle, meaning Moiso posted his big numbers while Louisville was supposedly able to focus on him as the lone inside threat.

Davis played the final 6:51 with four fouls, Moiso the final 5:55 and Watson the final 3:59.

Rush was so rattled Thursday by heavy turbulence that bounced the team’s flight to Memphis, Tenn., he refused to take the connection. He drove the final 375 miles with several staff members, then responded less than 48 hours later with eight points, nine rebounds and three steals.

And UCLA as a whole played the first half like a team that was either asleep, given the 10 a.m. start time back home, or simply uninspired.

It wasn’t only the seven-point deficit at the break, 38-31.

Or the 30.6% shooting a game after making 53.6% against USC.

Or that Watson had four of his nine turnovers in the first 5 1/2 minutes and the Bruins had 11 in the first 20 minutes that led to 16 Louisville points.

It’s that emotionally, they looked worse than that.

“I didn’t mind the shooting percentage,” Lavin said. “I didn’t even mind the missed layups. But our aggression level was not where we needed.”

Said Moiso, who by that stage had two points on one-of-seven shooting and four rebounds: “In the first half, we were soft on defense and at attacking the basket. Particularly me.”

All of which Lavin pointed out to the Bruins at halftime.

“He didn’t yell,” Davis said. “He just basically came in and said they took our heart, that it looked like we were playing scared.”

Lavin wasn’t the only one with such a notion.

When the Bruins huddled just before returning to the court for the second half, Davis took control.

He did yell.

“I was furious,” Davis said. “I knew we weren’t playing hard and were playing like we were tentative.”

The response, or the reaction, was immediate.

UCLA opened the second half with an 11-2 run, earning a 42-40 lead.

When Louisville scored on the ensuing possession to pull even, the Bruins followed with another 11-2 charge.

That time, they sprinted away for good--the lead was nine points with 12:57 remaining.

The Cardinals never got closer than six the rest of the way, and the margin was more like 10 most of the time.

“I wish I was smart enough to tell you what the problem was,” Louisville Coach Denny Crum said. “We played really poorly. We haven’t done anything right this week. This week, we have not been in sync. We are not playing well together. I know we are a lot better basketball team.”

The Bruins were in the second half.

They shot 66.7%--22 of 33--in that time to finish at 47.8%. Moiso, showing a noticeable surge in intensity, was seven of eight. Davis was five of six in the half. He made seven of eight shots and 10 of 15 free throws in the game.

* STILL STREAKING: The UCLA women’s team beat USC, 94-53, for eighth win in a row. Page 9

* WISCONSIN WINS: No. 15 Wisconsin defeated No. 14 Iowa, 72-52, at Iowa City. Page 8

* ARIZONA UPSET: Oregon State beat No. 9 Arizona, 60-59, at Corvallis, Ore. Page 9