M. basketball wins
nail-biter over AIA
By Randy Satterburg
Daily Bruin Staff
It took a little divine intervention to get the job done, but
the UCLA men’s basketball team eventually squeaked past Athletes in
Action, in Pauley Pavilion Tuesday. After Ed O’Bannon hit a pair of
free throws to give UCLA a one-point lead with six seconds left,
the Bruins were in need of a kind bounce, and got it, when David
Daniels’ shot rimmed out at the buzzer to give the Bruins a 95-94
win.
A winless Athletes in Action squad took a 50-45 lead into
halftime against the sixth-ranked Bruins with the help of Robert
Sewell’s touch from the three-point arc, where he was a perfect
five for five in the first half.
The Bruins also shot well in the first half (62.5 percent), but
it wasn’t until they stepped up the intensity on defense in the
second half with a full-court press that they climbed back into the
game.
UCLA head coach Jim Harrick substituted liberally throughout the
game, giving eight different players at least 15 minutes of game
action, but down the stretch he stayed with the effective
combination of Tyus Edney, Ed O’Bannon (16 points), Charles
O’Bannon (15), Cameron Dollar (10 assists) and freshmen Kris
Johnson. Johnson scored a team-high 18 points and provided a spark
with his hustle on the boards.
UCLA was nearly done in by two of its prodigal sons playing for
Athletes in Action. One year removed from his role as the Bruins’
starting shooting guard, Shon Tarver was back in Pauley, this time
chipping in 15 points against UCLA. Rod Foster went for 12 points
against his former team.
But freshmen J.R. Henderson (5 of 7 shooting) and Toby Bailey (3
of 4 on three-point shots) also showed deft scoring touches from
the field as each contributed 11 points for the Bruins.