Bruin Minds Set on Easy Victory

UCLA guard Billy Knight called Gill Coliseum “a barn house,” saying this rural town is so boring that getting up for Oregon State would be a chore. Coach Steve Lavin didn’t exude a sense of urgency either, sitting in the media room until five minutes before tip-off watching Arizona and Stanford play on TV.

The Bruins might have thought they were at the end of the earth, and certainly more interesting Pacific 10 Conference developments were occurring elsewhere. But a second loss on this trip would have been as ominous a warning as Punxsatawney Phil seeing his shadow.

So once the game began, the Bruins put spring in their step, breezing to a 70-48 victory in front of 9,039 to stay two games behind Oregon, the surprising conference leader that routed UCLA by 29 points two nights earlier and held off USC on Saturday.

“Our veterans understood this was a must win,” Lavin said. “Older players know that it’s one thing to lose, that all teams lose, but the important thing is not to lose the lesson.”

Judging from this effort, lessons included playing better defense close to the basket and working diligently for high-percentage shots. The Bruins (15-6, 7-4 in the Pac 10) held Oregon State (10-11, 3-8) to 35.3% shooting while making 61.5% of their own shots.

“We turned down shots to get better ones and we made them take poor shots from outside,” said forward Matt Barnes, who shook off a sore neck to make four of six shots and take two charges.

The barn house became Barnes’ house early in the second half when he made nifty moves inside for two baskets that increased a nine-point halftime lead to 38-26, then made a three-point shot from the top of the key to make it 49-36.

After experiencing neck spasms reaching for the telephone from his hotel bed Friday morning, Barnes spent two days getting treatment from Bruin trainer Mark Schoen and a local physical therapist.

“When it first happened I couldn’t move, I was really scared,” he said. “But it loosened up with all the therapy.”

Center Dan Gadzuric was another key, exploiting a significant height advantage to score 18 points while staying out of foul trouble. He also dominated on defense, stepping out near the top of the key and helping force the Beavers to launch a school-record 32 three-point shots. They made only seven.

Every UCLA starter played well. Jason Kapono made all seven of his two-point shots and scored 19 points. Knight scored 11, and freshman point guard Cedric Bozeman turned in his best performance with a career-high eight assists and one turnover.

They were even better on defense, with Knight making three steals, Kapono getting two and the Beavers settling for long and contested looks at the basket.

“They packed it in on defense, took away [power forward] Philip Ricci and dared us to beat them from outside,” Beaver Coach Ritchie McKay said.

The Bruins usually didn’t shoot until the shot clock was under 10 seconds and they made 14 of 25 while trying only four three-pointers. They were even better in the second half, making 18 of 27 shots.

“The kids played with great poise,” Lavin said. “But it doesn’t get any easier. There is more parity in the conference this year than I’ve ever seen.”

It’s impossible to tell whether the Bruins will make like groundhogs and return to their den for more napping or use this victory to launch a winning streak--as they did a year ago by rattling off eight in a row after losing to California by 29.

But for one night they quieted the doubters. The next challenge will be to beat the top teams in the conference--UCLA is 0-4 against USC, Arizona, Stanford and Oregon, with another game against each ahead.

First up will be the Trojans.

“We’ll see next week if we can keep up the same mind-set,” Barnes said.