Bruins top Trojans 85-76 for season series sweep

  DAVE HILL/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Junior guard
Ray Young goes up for two of his 19 points as the
Bruins defeated USC 85-76 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena Thursday
night. UCLA 85 USC 76

By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Both teams knew that playing a level-headed 40 minutes of
basketball would get them the victory Thursday night.

Fortunately for the Bruins (14-6, 8-2 Pac-10), they were more
composed than the Trojans (16-6, 6-4 Pac-10) and their fans. They
swept the season series, taking their 13th meeting in 14 tries over
their crosstown rivals with a 85-76 victory before 16,409 at the
Los Angeles Sports Arena.

“We knew it was going to be a battle from the
start,” said senior co-captain Earl Watson, who finished with
11 points and three assists. “We kept our composure and took
control with our patience.”

The game fell out of the Trojans’ hands when their fans
began to litter the court with water bottles and rally towels with
under two minutes to go in the contest. At the time, USC was down
71-66 and trying to mount a late rally.

Southern California jumped on UCLA early by going to junior
forward Sam Clancy. Clancy scored the Trojans’ first eight
points in the game and had 13 in the first half. Clancy,
USC’s leading scorer on the season, was active on the boards
in the first half as well. He had 17 points and six rebounds in the
contest before fouling out in the second half.

The game saw eight lead changes in the first eight minutes with
neither ballclub grabbing hold of the momentum. Junior center Dan
Gadzuric attempted to silence the rowdy Trojan crowd by scoring the
Bruins’ first six points of the game. The last two of those
points came when Gadzuric got the basketball at the right elbow and
turned to find no challengers on defense. He quickly power-dribbled
and took off for a one-handed tomahawk jam.

With the lead changing hands faster than a hot potato, USC
looked to take charge. Senior center Brian Scalabrine hit a pull-up
jumper with 9:44 remaining in the first half to give the Trojans a
21-18 advantage.

“We came out strong and they came out strong,” said
Gadzuric, who had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“But we kept doing what worked well and didn’t
worry.”

Not intimidated, UCLA mounted their charge with an 11-0 run.
Sparked by a three-point play and three-point field goal from
sophomore forward Jason Kapono, the Bruins moved in front 29-21
with 7:16 to go in the first frame.

Kapono didn’t stop there. After USC point guard Brandon
Granville hit two free throws to break the Trojan drought, Kapono
darted downcourt on the ensuing inbound possession for the easy
fast break slam dunk and the Bruins’ largest lead of the
half.

Going into halftime, UCLA was leading by five. The game very
much resembled a free-throw contest, as whistle-happy referees
called 21 fouls in the first 20 minutes.

Two minutes into the half, the Trojans gave the green light to
Scalabrine, who scored the first seven USC points, allowing his
team to claw within two at 43-41.

UCLA responded with consecutive baskets while Watson picked up
his fourth personal foul.

But the turning point didn’t come until late in the
game.

On a fast break opportunity, junior guard Ray Young got Clancy
to pick up his fifth and disqualifying foul.

Trojan fans, wishing to see the home team extend their
season’s perfect home record and tie UCLA for second in the
Pac-10 standings, began throwing trash onto the floor in
frustration. A technical foul was called and after Kapono hit the
free throw, Young hit two more to turn a 71-66 lead into an
eight-point advantage. He made nine of his final 10 from the
charity stripe in the final two minutes to seal the win.

Young finished the game with 19 points. Kapono had 20.

“We have a long way to go,” said UCLA head coach
Steve Lavin. “But I am proud of our kids and their progress
tonight.”