Bruin squad has Trojans in its pocket

Thursday, February 18, 1999

Bruin squad has Trojans in its pocket

M.HOOPS: Despite terrible free-throws, Davis’ illness, UCLA tops
USC in Pauley

By David Arnold

Daily Bruin Contributor

In sickness or in health, when the game is on the line Baron
Davis gets the ball.

With 36 seconds left in last night’s home game against USC,
Davis found a lucky bounce on a mid-range jumper to put the Bruins
up 67-63. Freshmen Ray Young hit his last foul shot for the final
point of UCLA’s 68-63 victory.

"I knew it was going in," said Davis. "I felt it."

Finishing with a team-high in points (17), assists (seven) and
minutes (35), Davis surprised many merely by playing.

"An hour before the game, I really didn’t think I was going to
play," said Davis, who was suffering from the flu and an agitated
knee.

"Early in the game, I couldn’t even bend my knee all the way
back."

Yet, despite the wary eyes of the trainer on him all game, Davis
continued to come up big.

"He’s playing as well as any point guard in the nation," said
Coach Steve Lavin, "He reminds me of a Barry Sanders in basketball
hightops."

"He was on fire tonight," said freshmen JaRon Rush, though his
own game was no less memorable.

Rush had a game-high 10 rebounds while adding 15 points of his
own. Most amazingly, six of Rush’s boards came on the offensive
end.

"We gotta get everyone rebounding like him," said Davis,
returning Rush’s praise.

"I just try to take some pressure off our big guys in the
rebounding area," said a humble Rush after the game.

But if it wasn’t for the play of Trojans Elias Ayuso and Brian
Scalabrine, UCLA wouldn’t have needed such heroics from Davis and
Rush.

Scalabrine led all scorers with 20 points and added eight
rebounds while only missing one minute of action.

Ayuso also had a great game until a Bruin double-team finally
kept his scoring to a minimum. He finished with 13 points, mainly
due to three of six shooting from behind the arc.

Brandon Granville also provided a great boost for Southern Cal
by adding had eight assists. Unfortunately, Granville finished the
game on the pine after hitting his head in a scuffle under the
basket.

At the half, the Bruin lead was a precarious 34-31. USC did not
make a block or a steal until the second half, but UCLA’s defense
remained in the spotlight for the rest of the game.

At no other point was the Bruin’s defense more visible than in
the few seconds after Davis’s shot went in. UCLA was able to force
the Trojans into a poor selection of desperation shots to hold onto
their lead, while creating USC’s Jeff Trepagnier’s fifth foul.

After the buzzer, Lavin had nothing but good words for his team
and his opponents.

"This was one of the most physical games in conference play for
us," said Lavin. "But what was most important was the level of
effort, especially coming off two tough losses."

In particular, Lavin referred to his "three Rudy’s" of Brandon
Loyd, Todd Ramasar and Sean Farnham, whom Lavin claims would be
"difficult to sit down because he’s playing so well."

The only down-side to last-night’s win: free throws. As Lavin
put it: "If you notice, there’s a lot of paint missing off the
front of our rims from our bricks."

The victory continued UCLA’s streak of dominance over their
cross-town rivals to ten games, dating back to the 1994
season.MICHAEL ROSS WACHT/Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Ray Young lays it up for two points in UCLA’s 68-63 victory over
USC in Pauley. Pavilion.XXXXXXXXX/Daily Bruin

Single line photo cutline.

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