UCLA’s Work in Progress

The first game of the post-Earl Watson era at UCLA began with errant passes, questionable ball-handling and fruitless drives into traffic.

Unexpected? Not particularly.

It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to realize life isn’t the same without Watson.

Cedric Bozeman, the 6-foot-7 freshman wunderkind, eventually will be an exceptional point guard. And he had moments of brilliance Monday in a 71-60 victory over outmanned Houston at the Maui Invitational.

But it will take time. Coach Steve Lavin hopes just not too much time for a team that needs to win now.

“Cedric won’t make the same mistake twice,” he said. “He has an accelerated learning curve.”

The Bruins eventually put away Houston by pressing, substituting freely and crashing the boards in front of about 2,700 packed into sweltering Lahaina Civic Center, a tiny gym more suited for a high school homecoming dance than a big-time basketball event.

High school was where Bozeman spent the last four years, at Santa Ana Mater Dei, while most of his Bruin teammates spent the same span in Westwood with Watson, who started every game of his four-year career.

Until Bozeman gains experience, he’ll shine at times--as he did scoring two layups in a row early in the second half when UCLA seized control--and he’ll look foolish, as he did getting stripped on a drive through the lane in the waning seconds of the first half.

He scored 13 points, 11 in the second half. Forward Jason Kapono led UCLA with 16 points, and Matt Barnes added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

“I was just trying to stay poised and gather myself,” Bozeman said. “It’s a long game, 40 minutes. I just took everything in and stayed poised.”

Today’s second-round game was expected to be a crash course in point guard play for Bozeman, courtesy of All-Big 12 senior Kirk Hinrich of Kansas. But the Jayhawks were upset Monday and the Bruins will face Ball State at 6:30 PST.

The No. 3 Bruins did not see No. 4 Kansas get knocked off, but they witnessed No. 1 Duke narrowly escape Seton Hall, peering through smoky windows from a dressing area above the suffocating court as the Blue Devils nearly choked.

“That was crazy,” Bruin guard Billy Knight said to no one in particular after Jason Williams intercepted a pass in the last second to keep Duke in the winner’s bracket.

But Houston got few quality minutes from its bench and could not match UCLA’s depth. There was no repeat of the Cougars’ famous streak-breaking victory over UCLA in 1968, no budding Elvin Hayes to dash the Bruins’ hopes.

UCLA led only 30-27 at halftime but Kapono hit a three-pointer to open the second half and made another to stretch the margin to 49-36 five minutes later.

The press helped mask sluggish play early. Barnes and Billy Knight each converted steals into layups in the first four minutes.

Lavin substituted liberally and for a stretch midway through the half Knight was joined by freshmen Dijon Thompson and Andre Patterson and two other nonstarters, T.J. Cummings and Rico Hines.

The group helped the Bruins to a 16-11 lead on Thompson’s first basket--a three-pointer--but when Houston closed to 16-14 all the starters but Dan Gadzuric returned.

Gadzuric, a 6-11 center who figured to have a big game against an opponent with no starter taller than 6-8, picked up two fouls in the first four minutes and sat out the rest of the half. His first points came on a basket one minute into the second half, but he sprained his left ankle on his second basket with 16:50 to play.

He returned late in the game, but Lavin said the ankle stiffened after the game and Gadzuric, who finished with five points and two rebounds, is questionable for today.

Houston finished an eight-point run to lead, 19-16, but UCLA began to control the boards for the first time and clawed back to take the three-point halftime advantage.

The freshmen each had moments that caused Lavin to beam and others that caused him to cringe. A thunderous block by Patterson led to a fast break--and a pass out of bounds by Thompson.

Bozeman, of course, is the key freshman, and he must have more of the former moments than the latter.

His passes became crisper and his shots more confident in the second half. He scored after posting up against smaller opponents and made two free throws with 1:12 to play to push the lead to 71-58.

Not yet reminiscent of Watson, but not bad for openers. And today will bring another game.

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MAUI INVITATIONAL

Ball State 93, Kansas 91: Patrick Jackson scored with 0.8 of a second to play for the victory.

Duke 80, Seton Hall 79: Jason Williams’ free throw with 7.1 seconds left helped Duke win.

South Carolina 74, Chaminade 61: Jamel Bradley scored 17 points as South Carolina held on to win.

TODAY’S SEMIFINALS ON ESPN

Duke vs. South Carolina, 4 p.m.

Ball State vs. UCLA, 6:30 p.m.