Pauley Has Become Bruin Flop House

Another UCLA home game. More macabre milestones.

The 87-52 loss to No. 2 Arizona on Saturday was the Bruins’ worst loss in the 38-year history of Pauley Pavilion.

It was a record seventh home loss this season -- and six more home games remain.

UCLA (4-9, 2-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference) hasn’t started this badly since 1945-46, when the schedule included 20th Century Fox, St. Mary’s Pre-Flight, Caltech and the Santa Ana Army Air Base.

And after beating the top-ranked team in the nation the last three seasons, the Bruins elevated Arizona to No. 1. The Wildcats (13-1, 6-0) are expected to seize the top spot because No. 1 Duke lost Saturday.

That’s a lot of landmarks for one day, and there was one more.

With 13 minutes to play, Coach Steve Lavin substituted seldom-used walk-ons Janou Rubin and Quinn Hawking for seniors Jason Kapono and Ray Young as part of a wholesale switch with UCLA trailing, 54-26.

Neither starter returned. Kapono, fifth all-time in UCLA scoring, had only four points. Young, scoreless for the second game in a row, walked off without shaking hands with opposing players for the third time this season and was the first player dressed and gone.

The sight of Kapono languishing on the bench pained Arizona senior Rick Anderson, who grew up with the UCLA forward in Long Beach.

“It’s weird seeing him like that,” Anderson said. “Jason is in a funk. He’s been uptight. I think they should play him every minute.”

The depth of Bruin misery stunned other Wildcat players.

“It was tough seeing the looks on their faces,” guard Salim Stoudamire said. “They were moping. They just looked sad.”

Added forward Luke Walton, whose father, Bill, was a three-time UCLA All-American: “Usually you come in here and have to fight and scrap every minute of the game. It wasn’t the normal atmosphere.”

The most sobering thought is that the Bruins actually did come out fighting and scrapping. Forward Andre Patterson dived for loose balls, Josiah Johnson blocked two shots and Kapono badgered the referee. Their full-court press created havoc and Arizona turned the ball over 13 times in the first half.

But offensively, UCLA has never been more inept.

The Bruins made only seven of 28 shots in the half, falling behind, 34-18. It was their fewest points in a half all season, less than the 23 against St. John’s last Saturday and the 22 against Arizona State on Thursday.

Arizona responded in kind to the Bruin full-court pressure, making for a half so sloppy there were more turnovers (23) than baskets (18).

“We played to the level of our opponent, and we have to change that,” Stoudamire said.

Eventually, Arizona took care of No. 1, opening the second half with a 12-4 run. Stoudamire scored 19 points, leading five Arizona scorers in double figures as the Wildcats completed their first sweep in Los Angeles in 10 years.

T.J. Cummings led UCLA with 12 points but made only three of 13 shots. Dijon Thompson scored 10 on five-of-15 shooting and the Bruins shot 31.8%.

Rubin, a redshirt sophomore, made the only three Bruin three-point baskets.

“A bright spot was Rubin,” Lavin said. “He lives in the gym. It’s nice to see a small kind of breakthrough. He just went out and played hard, hit open shots and had some bounce in his step. He didn’t have the weight of the world on his shoulders.”

As Kapono and Young clearly did. As the rest of the Bruin regulars have felt during four consecutive losses, all at home.

“It’s getting ugly,” guard Cedric Bozeman said.

The only cheers from the 11,082 that bore a significant tint of Arizona red came when Rubin and Hawking entered the game along with freshmen Marcedes Lewis and Michael Fey. They were on the court with Bozeman for nearly three minutes, forcing two turnovers and getting outscored only 4-3.

When Lavin put regulars back in with 10:22 to play, the crowd booed. During a timeout two minutes later, fans began filing out.

Kapono, to his credit, stayed around to answer pointed questions. Two weeks removed from a career-high 44-point performance, he and his team have bottomed out.

He had the last 13 minutes to think about what to say.

“Coach Lavin obviously knows what’s best for the team,” he said. “It was hard. I really wanted to be out there.”