Young Finds Range--It’s Closer

One small step forward, one giant leap for Ray Young.

Young, a streak-shooting UCLA guard, got hot Thursday night thanks to a subtle adjustment to his game. He merely got a little closer to the hoop before he launched his shots.

“I just really focused on getting easier shots,” said Young, who scored 19 points and made 11 of 12 free throws. “Today I only took one three-pointer [two, actually], and my mid-range shooting definitely outshines my three-point shooting. I got a lot of open opportunities, and today I just capitalized.”

It was Young’s most meaningful performance of the season. He scored 18 at Arizona, but the Bruins lost by 25.

“I’m a rhythm shooter, by all means,” said Young, who came into Thursday’s game averaging 8.7 points. “[Assistant] Coach Michael Holton just helped me this week about just creating an easier shot that will get me in the rhythm right away instead of just shooting stand-still jump shots.”

Young made four of six shots from the field and blocked two shots.

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UCLA point guard Earl Watson was quite demonstrative when he picked up his fifth foul with 1:41 to play. The Bruins were leading by eight and appeared to have the victory on ice. As he walked to the bench, Watson raised his arms at his side, almost goading the USC fans.

In the locker room, he was more reserved. He was asked if a sweep over the Trojans means the city belongs to UCLA.

“I’m not really into that,” he said. “But it shows that we were this year the best team in L.A. But it doesn’t really matter because both teams are going to the [NCAA] tournament, and they may go further. So whoever makes it further in the tournament is going to be the best team in L.A.”

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The Trojans were whistled for a technical foul with 1:50 remaining when two objects sailed onto the court from the crowd--a rolled-up towel and a water bottle that nearly hit UCLA center Dan Gadzuric. USC fans in one corner of the arena indicated the water bottle was launched from the Bruin section.

About a minute later, the Trojans were slapped with another technical when someone threw something else onto the floor. It was unclear what was thrown, however.

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USC forward Sam Clancy has been added to the list of candidates for the John R. Wooden Award, presented to the nation’s best player.

Grade checks are being conducted for the 30 midseason candidates, as well as a group of 10 additional candidates of which Clancy is a member. To remain eligible for the award, candidates must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 and be making progress toward graduation. The winner is announced April 7.

Coming into Thursday’s game, Clancy led the Trojans in scoring (18.6), rebounding (7.1), and was the leading shot blocker in the Pacific 10 Conference (2.4). He scored 17 on Thursday before fouling out, sharing team-high honors with Brian Scalabrine.

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The game was a sellout, with an announced attendance of 16,409, the largest crowd for a Pac-10 game held on a traditional home court.

California drew larger crowds when it played at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in the mid-1990s while Haas Pavilion was being constructed. The previous record for a USC-UCLA game was 15,517 at the Sports Arena in 1992.