Bruins Enjoy Visit by Holton

Strange feeling, returning to the building where you played and coached.

Stranger still, absent-mind- edly walking to the wrong bench before the game begins.

Strangest of all, Michael Holton watched UCLA players he recruited and helped develop absolutely pummel his Portland Pilots, 105-67, Saturday night before 6,608 at Pauley Pavilion.

“Because of the relationship I have with some of those guys, they wanted me to see them do well,” he said.

Holton played at UCLA in the early 1980s and was an assistant from 1996-2001 before becoming Portland’s coach last season. He is especially close to senior guard Ray Young and junior forward T.J. Cummings.

But there was nothing close about the game. UCLA (2-2) led by 11 points after five minutes, 21 points after 11 minutes and 29 points by halftime.

Young, whose confidence is growing with each game after redshirting last season, scored 14 points in 18 minutes. Cummings had 13 points and nine rebounds.

“If the game got too close, I knew I would be receiving a call [from Holton] saying, ‘We could have got you,’ ” Young said. “So I didn’t want to leave it to chance.

“Coach Holton always had my back when he was [at UCLA]. He’s who I cried to when I was struggling. He was there for me, right or wrong, like a father. I wanted him to see that we are improving.”

Holton’s current team appears to need his undivided attention. The Pilots (3-3) beat San Diego State during a three-game winning streak but have lost three in a row to Pacific 10 Conference teams.

“UCLA played great, they did everything they set out to do,” he said.

Forward Dijon Thompson came off the bench to score 23 points, but nearly every Bruin shined. Thirteen players scored, 14 had at least one rebound and the Bruins got 54 points and 31 rebounds from reserves.

Sophomore forward Andre Patterson hadn’t practiced since gaining eligibility Friday, yet he logged seven minutes, blocked two shots and threw down a dunk.

“I wasn’t planning on playing him more than a couple minutes, so it was nice to allow him to break a sweat,” UCLA Coach Steve Lavin said.

Portland played at a fast pace but shot only 25% and UCLA turned missed Pilot shots into fastbreak baskets. The Bruins also dominated the boards, outrebounding Portland, 61-31, and taking 20 offensive rebounds.

“The score was dramatic, but the important thing is you can see a team on the path of improvement,” Lavin said.

It was UCLA’s second victory after opening with losses to San Diego and Duke. There is one more tuneup -- a home game Tuesday against Northern Arizona -- before the Bruins travel to Kansas on Dec. 21.

Michael Fey, a 6-foot-11 center, started for the second game in a row and made an impact for the first time, scoring five points in the first three minutes. The Bruins utilized their significant size advantage early, outrebounding Portland in the first half, 33-8.

Point guard Cedric Bozeman played only 16 minutes because of a sore back. His backup, sophomore Ryan Walcott, kept the offense running crisply and scored nine points.

By the second half the action resembled a pick-up game between varsity and junior varsity teams, which suited the Bruins fine. After losing two exhibitions and the opener against San Diego in front of their home fans, cheers sounded good.

“The whole game was a boost for us,” Young said. “We ... need more games like this.”

It marked the fifth time UCLA has scored 105 points in the last five years and the biggest margin of victory since a 100-39 victory over Morgan State in 1999. It was a laugher from a team that had elicited little more than cringes.

That it came at the expense of a popular former Bruin was of little consequence.

“Michael Holton will have a very successful program at Portland and I loved seeing him,” Young said. “But we need to get on track, and this was a big step.”