Splitting Headache

Drained, dissatisfied and, by day’s end, deep-sixed.

As in a sixth-place Pacific 10 Conference finish, deepest in UCLA history.

Ryan Walcott’s three-point try bounced off the rim, the horn sounded, and the Bruins left Pauley Pavilion for the last time this season 65-62 losers to Oregon on Saturday before 11,680 who came to cheer seniors yet were roused only by underclassmen.

The outcome was at once extraordinary and expected. It was Oregon’s first victory at UCLA in 18 years and the eighth week in a row the Bruins have gone 1-1.

The long stretch of mediocrity has left UCLA (19-10, 11-7 in the Pac 10) unranked and unconvincing. Three victories in a row will be needed to win the conference tournament, which begins Thursday at Staples Center, with the Bruins playing California at 9 p.m.

Beyond that is the NCAA tournament, and 1-1 won’t get UCLA very far in that, either.

“I firmly believe we can do it,” forward Jason Kapono said of the Pac-10 tournament. “But we can say all the good words we want. We have to go out and prove it.”

Good deeds are something the No. 13 Ducks (22-7, 14-4) have learned to accomplish. They came to the Southland seeking their first Pac-10 title, and first outright title in any conference in 63 years, and swept USC and UCLA.

“We’ve got a lot more to do,” said Oregon forward Fredrick Jones, who scored 22 points two days after hitting the winning shot against USC. “It feels good to win two on the road. We’ll come back next week feeling even better.”

After Jones’ layin extended a one-point lead to three with 12 seconds left, the Bruins hurried down the floor and initiated a pick-and-roll at the top of the key with Kapono cutting around Matt Barnes.

As was the case the entire game, Kapono couldn’t get open and Barnes passed to Walcott, who ducked under Jones and missed the shot. Kapono, UCLA’s leading scorer, had seven points and took only two shots in the second half.

Walcott, a sparingly used redshirt freshman point guard, was on the floor the last 5:48 instead of freshman Cedric Bozeman because he provided quickness covering Oregon’s Luke Ridnour.

Walcott did not play in the first half but committed only one turnover in 16 second-half minutes and held Ridnour to three points after he had scored 11 in the first half.

“I was glad to see Ryan have the confidence and courage to take that last shot,” Coach Steve Lavin said. “He’s going to have a great career ahead of him and he played his heart out.”

Bozeman was coming off several strong efforts, but his development hit a snag. He had four turnovers and made one of four shots, a three-pointer during a seven-minute surge that temporarily transformed senior day into romper room.

Lavin inserted sophomore T.J. Cummings and freshmen Walcott, Bozeman, Dijon Thompson and Andre Patterson with Oregon leading, 45-40. The Ducks still led, 54-51, when Kapono and seniors Dan Gadzuric, Billy Knight, Matt Barnes and Rico Hines checked back in with 6:16 to play, but the youngsters’ time was marked by a high-flying tempo and exuberant defense.

They held Oregon to one basket and one free throw in a stretch of 10 possessions, forcing three turnovers. The crowd roared its approval when Walcott’s three-pointer gave UCLA its first lead since the first five minutes, 49-48, with 7:52 to play.

“That was a bright spot and a sneak preview, a glimpse into the future,” Lavin said. “Those guys really sparked us.”

Gadzuric was a factor throughout the game, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in 30 minutes. However, he missed four free throws, including one with 42.9 seconds left that could have tied the score. That meant after Jones scored, UCLA had to take a three-point shot on the last possession.

None of the other seniors turned in a memorable performance. Knight scored four points, Barnes scored 10 on three-for-11 shooting and Hines made his only attempt and had two steals in 10 minutes.

“I didn’t have any legs and it took a lot to get going,” Barnes said. “Only Dan played great.”

UCLA trailed, 37-31, at halftime and did not begin the second half well. On the Bruins’ first possession, Gadzuric had no one to pass to for 10 seconds, Knight couldn’t find anybody either, and Barnes tossed up an air ball trying to beat the shot clock.

The disorganized display begged the question: What was said in the locker room during halftime?

With the regular season in the books, much remains puzzling about the Bruins.