It’s Too Late for Bruins

The first Pacific 10 Conference tournament in 12 years purports to offer something for everybody.

Delivering is a very different story.

UCLA wanted redemption, but it didn’t get it. California held off the Bruins, 67-61, before a near-sellout crowd at Staples Center that exhibited impressive stamina given the hour.

Cal will face Arizona in the semifinals tonight.

California wanted national visibility. It came away with a victory, yet on the East Coast the post-midnight start was later than Letterman.

Even in L.A., television viewers had to choose between the last several minutes of the game and Jay Leno’s monologue.

Less than two minutes into the second half, UCLA took its first lead since the game’s early stages on Jason Kapono’s 15-foot fall-away, but Cal rattled off nine points in a row, with Ryan Forehan-Kelly making two three-point baskets.

Dan Gadzuric answered with his first two baskets of the game, pulling UCLA within four points.

Was anybody out there watching?

“You couldn’t have a better time to have a tournament in terms of where the league is and for exposure for the league,” Cal Coach Ben Braun said before the game.

Clearly he didn’t mean time of day. There was no exposure for either team except for bleary bar patrons and insomniacs. Notoriously late-night World Series games are “Good Morning America” compared to this.

A shot-clock malfunction delayed the second half of the Oregon-Washington game--the first of four--by 12 minutes, but Pac-10 officials were indifferent to punctuality thereafter.

No. 6-seeded UCLA and No. 3 Cal tipped off 35 minutes late at 9:35 p.m, and the Bears soon took the upper hand, leading, 28-19, with eight minutes left in the first half by working the ball into the paint for runners and layups.

Gadzuric, the UCLA center, had double-doubles in both regular-season encounters between the teams, but he had few touches and was scoreless in the half and did not make a basket until finishing a fastbreak with a dunk five minutes into the second half.

The Bruins trailed, 34-31, at halftime, staying within reach by making seven three-point baskets, three by Matt Barnes--who scored 12 points--two by Kapono and one each by Billy Knight and Dijon Thompson.

Otherwise, the Bruins were sloppy, committing 11 turnovers and appearing as tentative offensively as they did in last week’s loss to Oregon.

No one from Braun’s no-name roster was named to the All-Pac-10 team. No Bear was in the top 10 in scoring or rebounds or three-point shooting. Or in the top five in assists or steals.

This game was no different. Eight Bears scored in the first half--Joe Shipp and Forehan-Kelly each had nine--and Cal had 12 assists.

Home court proved crucial in these teams’ two previous meetings.

At Berkeley, the Bruins came out wearing headbands for solidarity and left in tatters, losing by 18 points. At Pauley Pavilion, UCLA held a steady lead most of the game and won decisively. Part of the appeal of a conference tournament is that it is played on a somewhat neutral court.

“This tournament is an important tune-up and dress rehearsal for [the NCAA tournament],” UCLA Coach Steve Lavin said. “The bright lights of the Staples Center with the shot background and the feel of a different floor all prepare us.

“The Pac-10 tournament gives teams a chance to get rid of the deer-in-headlights feeling before next week.”

That would be the NCAA tournament, which should start on time.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

TOURNAMENT BREAKDOWN

FIRST-ROUND RESULTS

No. 1 Oregon 86, No. 8 Washington 64

No. 4 USC 103, No. 5 Stanford 78

No. 2 Arizona 73, No. 7 Arizona State 56

No. 3 California 67, No. 6 UCLA 61

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SEMIFINALS--TONIGHT (FSN)

6 p.m.

No. 1 Oregon (23-7) vs.

No. 4 USC (21-8)

8:30 p.m.

No. 2 Arizona (20-9) vs.

No. 3 California (22-7)

FINAL--SATURDAY (CH. 2)

Tournament championship, 3 p.m.

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TOP PERFORMERS

Luke Jackson, Oregon

* Sophomore forward scored 16 of his 27 points in the second half, making all four of his three-point shots.

Brandon Granville, USC

* Senior point guard got the Trojans off to a fast start and finished with 20 points and 11 assists in rout of Stanford.

Sam Clancy, USC

* Senior forward proved his Pac-10 player-of-the-year award was deserving with 25 points and nine rebounds.

Luke Walton, Arizona

* The force has been with this Luke all season, and the junior forward continued his strong play with 25 points.