Late Charge Gives Bruins a Victory

It was 5 minutes 16 seconds of what could be, a UCLA team that unleashed a defense that would have kept crashing waves away from sand and an offense that dominated in kind.

“What I told them,” Coach Steve Lavin said of his talk to the Bruins after they defeated Oregon State, 85-74, Thursday night, “was that it was probably as impressive a collective effort as we’ve had all season.”

The second half in general at Gill Coliseum, but especially 5:16 and that 24-3 run that turned an 11-point deficit into a 10-point lead and an eventual victory before 6,014.

Forget the opponent. If anything made it more noteworthy than the numbers alone indicate, it’s that it came from a team that was its usual inconsistent and often-lifeless self most of the night.

And then, an electrical surge.

“Everybody just dug down,” guard Ray Young said after his career-high 22 points.

Throwing the excavated dirt on Oregon State. The Bruins, 12-5 overall and 3-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference, shot 58.6% and committed only three turnovers in the second half, at the same time the Beavers (10-7, 2-4) were being held to 32.3% from the field, making only 10 baskets.

No one could have seen it coming. Not the way things started.

After also considering Young or Ryan Bailey for a promotion to the opening lineup in place of Rico Hines, still wearing a walking boot on his right foot because of a sprained big toe, the Bruins decided on Matt Barnes, his first start since Feb. 25, 1999. This being a Lavin team, it turned into little more than a formality.

Barnes, coming off a career-high 17 points against Arizona State, lasted all of the first 2:58 versus Oregon State before getting pulled--in favor of Young. Two minutes later, without any of UCLA’s big men in foul trouble, Dan Gadzuric came out in favor of Sean Farnham, who hadn’t played since Jan. 8 at Washington State. About three minutes after that, Farnham came out . . . or Barnes.

Strange for other teams maybe, the norm for UCLA. Just like the other aspect of the start to Thursday night. The lack of offense. Actually, the complete absence of it.

The Bruins didn’t score until the game was 4:27 old, a span that included seven fruitless possessions, three turnovers and two missed free throws by Earl Watson. The only consolation was that Oregon State wasn’t able to capitalize, managing only five points in the same span.

After Jason Kapono’s lay-in provided the breakthrough, Young scored the Bruins’ next four baskets, three on three-pointers, a streak supplemented by Jerome Moiso’s two free throws that gave UCLA its first lead, 15-14.

Young was lifted after missing his next shot, but he returned later in the half to make another from behind the arc. It gave him 14 points in 15 minutes before intermission. It was also significant in that it was one of only three Bruin field goals in the final nine minutes of the half.

That helped Oregon State to a 37-33 lead at the break, a margin the Beavers would increase to 11 with nine minutes gone in the second half. The Bruins were on their way to becoming Gill kill again.

Or maybe not. That 56-45 deficit was followed immediately by game-turning run that highlighted UCLA’s inside abilities. All but one free throw by Billy Knight and a short jumper by Young came from the interior, capped by Kapono making a nice pass that led to a Gadzuric dunk and Gadzuric returning the favor on the next possession with a pass underneath for a Kapono layup.

It wasn’t just that UCLA was scoring at will. Oregon State wasn’t scoring at all, going 7:28, and 12 possessions, without a field goal. When one finally came, with 5:06 remaining, the Bruins were well in control.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

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Stories, Page 5