Bruins fight off Bears’ late surge

Friday, January 15, 1999

Bruins fight off Bears’ late surge

MHOOPS: Baron Davis takes over second half en route to 72-61
victory

By David Arnold

Daily Bruin Contributor

In the first four minutes it was the Cal’s game. In the last
five minutes it was Bruin guard Baron Davis’ game.

Cal stopped UCLA from scoring for the first four minutes, wiping
the boards for rebounds like Mr. Clean, creating turnovers like
Martha Stewart.

As Davis put it, "We were real lethargic during warm-ups, and
that just carried over to the first few minutes."

Fellow Bruin guard Earl Watson also admitted, "They just had a
great presence in the first four minutes."

However, it was Davis who had the great presence in the end,
after warming-up during game time. He finished with a game-high 19
points, eight assists and five steals. His team ended with a 72-61
victory at home.

And if there are any questions about whether Davis still has his
explosiveness after off-season knee surgery, they’ve already been
answered.

As teammate Earl Watson put it, with trademark understatement,
"I think he still has it."

With the way things changed at halftime, it looked more like the
two teams were playing a double-header.

It wasn’t two different games, it just looked like it.

In the first half, Cal scored only 19 points while committing 17
turnovers. The Bears, as a whole, had the same amount of assists as
Watson: four.

It was a defensive struggle as both teams leading season scorers
(freshman Jerome Moiso for the Bruins and senior Geno Carlisle for
the Bears) had failed to score a point by halftime.

"I think it was one of the best defensive efforts our team has
had all year," said UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, "This game and the
Kentucky and Arizona games were our best defensive games. It was a
level of sustained intensity that takes time for a young team to
develop."

But after the first 20 minutes, things changed for Cal.

After committing 17 turnovers in the first half, they ended the
game with only 21 total. While they were only two of four from the
charity stripe in the first half, they were 15 for 20 for the game.
And while Carlisle didn’t score until after intermission, he still
lead his team with 14 points.

Lavin, impressed with the Bears as much as with his own team,
gave Cal more credit than the Bear’s conference record (1-3)
does.

"The fact that they have a one-and-three record is not
indicative of how bad a team they are," Lavin said. "It is
indicative of how difficult this league is."

"There’s just little margin for error in this league."

Perhaps lost in the brilliance of Davis’ great performance were
the gritty efforts of sophomore Travis Reed and freshmen Dan
Gadzuric and Moiso.

Reed came off the bench to add eight points, all from the floor,
while Moiso scored ten while committing no fouls at all.

For Gadzuric’s part, though held to only five points on offense,
he found a way to help his team by becoming the game’s leading
rebounder with 13 boards.

For offense, the Bruins looked to Watson and Davis. Watson, who
was seven for 11 from the floor, and perfect from behind the arc
and at the free-throw line, has shocked many this year with his
offensive improvements.

"I just think he’s doing an excellent job on offense this year,"
complimented Davis.

With this convincing win over a team that had previous beaten
top teams like UNC, the Bruins are hoping to stop some of those
nagging questions about their youth.

"I like it that people underestimate us," said Watson. "It gives
us motivation to show what we can really do."

"We’re young, but we’re confident," reminded Davis. "When you
step onto the court, you’re all basketball players, and those
things don’t matter."

Already three weeks into their conference schedule, the question
now is whether UCLA is ready for conference leader Stanford.

As impressive as their defense was last night, Watson, for one,
doesn’t think that would be enough against the Cardinal.

"No, it wouldn’t be enough. We’ve got to keep getting more and
more intense each game, because they (opposing teams) are, and if
we don’t improve we’re not gonna get anywhere."

The game went far in answering questions about UCLA’s defensive
prowess and Davis’ recovery.

But the real test lies in Saturday’s game against the Stanford
Cardinal.

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