M. hoops enters Pacific-10 stretch

M. hoops enters Pacific-10 stretch

Bruins open second half of conference play with game at
Washington

By Scott Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The sixth-ranked UCLA men’s basketball team will kick off the
second half of the Pacific-10 Conference season tonight with a 7
p.m. matchup against Washington in Seattle, and despite the
Huskies’ 10th-place conference standing, UCLA head coach Jim
Harrick is approaching this game with caution.

"Washington is always causing people problems up there," Harrick
said. "They run a motion game, and Bryant Boston is a quality
player ­ I look for him to be an all-league player next
year."

Boston, a 6-foot-2-inch junior guard, is averaging just under 15
points per game for the Huskies and leads his team in steals with
43.

The last time the two teams met, a 75-57 UCLA win Jan. 12 at
Pauley Pavilion, Boston had 14 points and three steals. Ten of
those points came in the first half, which ended with the Bruins
clinging to a 28-25 lead.

"With UCLA, (we’re) playing a team that I actually thought we
played pretty well in the first half against ­ put a pretty
good 20 minutes together down in Pauley," Washington head coach Bob
Bender said. "Their talent, and also their size, wore us down in
the second half."

UCLA (14-2 overall, 7-2 in the Pac- 10) ­ with center
George Zidek at 7-0, forward, Ed O’Bannon at 6-8 and guard J.R.
Henderson at 6-9 ­ has a definite height advantage over the
Huskies, whose tallest starter ­ center David Hawken ­
stands 6-8.

Hawken, a senior, averages just 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per
game, but Washington does boast freshman forward Mark Sanford, also
6-8, who is averaging 12 points and 5.9 rebounds.

Since the Jan. 12 loss to UCLA, Washington (5-12, 1-8) has won
just one game ­ a 75-57 victory over Oregon State in Seattle.
Nevertheless, the Huskies have turned in several strong
performances.

Against Washington State Jan. 28, Washington lost a 74-73
heartbreaker in Pullman ­ where the Cougars have yet to lose a
game this season.

And last Thursday in Tempe, the Huskies forced No. 14 Arizona
State into an overtime period, where the Sun Devils finally
prevailed, 78-73.

At home, Washington is 5-4, and the experience gained in the
first swing through the Conference can only help to improve that
mark.

"The second time around the league I think will benefit us,
especially the guys that have never been in the Pac-10 before,"
Bender said. "Now there is some familiarity with individuals and
most importantly with styles of most teams."

UCLA, meanwhile, returned to form Sunday with a 92-55 drubbing
of Notre Dame, and the Bruins enter tonight’s game tied for first
place in the Pac-10 with No. 8 Arizona.

"This is a game that we just have to go up there and play,"
Harrick said. "We’ve got to take care of business."