Trees prevent Bruin victory over Stanford

Friday, February 12, 1999

Trees prevent Bruin victory over Stanford

MBASKETBALL: Inability to rebound over Cardinal decisive in
tight 77-73 loss

By Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Senior Staff`

PALO ALTO, Calif. — It sure would be interesting to see how the
Bruins would match up against Stanford with a full line-up.

For the second time in as many meetings this year, UCLA ran into
foul trouble. Despite a heroic effort from Baron Davis, the Bruins
couldn’t handle the Stanford big men without its own big man, and
ultimately fell, 77-73, to the nation’s sixth-ranked team.

The defeat came only a month after UCLA fouled out four starters
and blew a five-point second half lead in its loss to Stanford at
Pauley Pavilion.

This time, in much the same fashion, 7-foot Bruin center Dan
Gadzuric fouled out with nine minutes remaining, and UCLA couldn’t
stop Stanford inside down the stretch.

"With Gadzuric out of there, we’re in big trouble rebounding,"
UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said. "That was the area where we were
struggling and bleeding the most – on the offensive boards."

All told, UCLA was outrebounded, 47-36.

After Gadzuric fouled out, Stanford scored on 10 of its next 13
possessions – most coming on second, third and even fourth chance
shots.

"If you boil it down to one thing, it was Stanford’s ability to
get second-chance shots," Lavin said. "They would get tip-ins, draw
fouls and get to the free-throw line. It all came back to
rebounding. We’re trying to do anything to stop the rebounding in
there."

While the ninth-ranked Bruins (17-6, 8-4 Pac-10) couldn’t handle
the Stanford big men, they did not go down without a fight. In a
game that few gave UCLA a chance to win, the Bruins gave the
Cardinal (20-4, 10-1) everything that it could handle.

"Man, they were tough," said Stanford center Mark Madsen, who
finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. "They gave us a really
tough game."

"That was a hard-fought victory," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery
added.

"UCLA played very good basketball. They were very much in
control offensively. I think they’re making progress to the point
where they are a very good basketball team."

The Bruins never trailed by more than five, and in fact after a
brief 2-0 deficit, didn’t fall behind again until 14:30 remained in
the contest.

This was due, in large part, to sophomore guard Davis. At times
he single-handedly kept UCLA in the contest. He finished with a
game-high 23 points and was 9-of-14 shooting from the field. He
connected on four of his six three-pointers and also tied for the
team lead with four assists.

Every time it looked as if the Cardinal would pull away at the
end, Davis would come up with a clutch shot. His three-pointer with
just under six minutes remaining cut down Stanford’s five-point
lead to two, and his three-pointer with 14 seconds left – after the
Bruins found themselves down by five again – gave the Bruins a
brief glimpse of hope in the waning moments, cutting the lead to
71-69.

One second later, however, Davis would foul out as the Bruins
used fouls to stop the clock and force Stanford to shoot free
throws.

Forcing free throws, however, was a losing proposition for the
Bruins. Stanford hit all 12 of its free throws over the final
minute-and-a-half to ice the game.

After Davis fouled out, Stanford guard Kris Weems hit his free
throws to give the Cardinal a 73-69 lead. Earl Watson then hit a
free throw for UCLA, but Art Lee made two more for Stanford giving
it a 75-70 lead with six second remaining.

UCLA freshman forward JaRon Rush sunk a desperation
three-pointer with two seconds left, but Lee hit two more free
throws to give Stanford a four-point advantage and the win.

It concluded a tremendous 53-point second-half for Stanford. The
Cardinal shot 50 percent from the field, and made five of seven
three-point attempts and 22 of its 24 second-half free throw
attempts.

It was a dramatic turnaround from the first 20 minutes; after a
sloppy first half, UCLA held a tenuous 26-24 lead. The Bruins took
advantage of Stanford’s early shooting woes by starting out the
game on a 14-4 run. After the Cardinal scored right after the
tip-off, it would score only once more in its next 13 possessions
to allow UCLA to open up the early 10-point lead.

It was a lead, however, the Bruins would not keep. Now, if they
had their full line-up, well, that might have been another
story.

* * *

The New Arena in Oakland, the venue of UCLA’s next game against
Cal on Saturday, is not exactly Maples Pavilion. It holds 1300 more
people, and, because it is only Cal’s temporary residence, is far
less intimidating.

Then again, the Bears are not exactly the Cardinal, either. Cal
is only 4-7, and while Stanford just finished a series sweep with
the Bruins, the Bears are now looking to avoid getting swept
themselves.

All this means that the Bears are hungry, and need a strong
finish to the season to ensure any chance of post-season play, and
the Bruins should be in fear of a Cal team fresh off a 58-55
victory over USC.

When the teams met a month ago in Westwood, the Bruins picked
apart the Bears defense en route to a 72-61 victory. Guard Geno
Carlisle led Cal with 14 points and six assists. The two were,
however, outclassed by Davis and Watson, who combined for 36
points, 13 assists and seven rebounds.

With reports from David Arnold, Daily Bruin contributor.

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