Bruins hand Wildcats rare McKale defeat
No. 4 UCLA turns back No. 11 Arizona, 71-61,
as Ed O’Bannon scores 21 points, Edney adds 19
By Randy Satterburg
Daily Bruin Staff
TUCSONÂThe fans at Arizona’s raucous McKale Center have
apparently grown so accustomed to winning there they had won
112 out of their last 115 home games prior to Thursday nightÂ
they don’t even understand the concept of losing any more.
But soon after it became obvious that UCLA would emerge with its
second victory here in the last four years, the Arizona fans
demonstrated that they had adapted to losing remarkably well.
While No. 4 UCLA (10-1 overall, 4-1 Pac-10) was in the process
of putting the finishing touches on a 71-61 victory in the game’s
final minutes Thursday, the overflow crowd of 14,257Â which
O’Bannon simply refers to as a "the sea of red"Â made such a
sudden rush for the exits they gave the appearance of being very
well schooled in how losing crowds are suppose to behave after
particularly painful losses.
"All we hear about is that Arizona never loses at home, they
never lose," Charles O’Bannon said. "To see their sea of red go
home early was definitely a great feeling."
Said brother Ed O’Bannon: "I’ve never heard (McKale Center) that
quiet before."
Tyus Edney contributed to those long, but not-so-uncomfortable
moments of silence from the opening tip, at which point he
immediately took charge of the game.
UCLA’s senior point guard, playing against Arizona for the last
time in McKale Center, scored four unanswered point before 45
seconds had ticked off the clock.
"Edney came out the first two plays of the game and really set
the tone," UCLA head coach Jim Harrick said.
The Bruins made their intentions of winning apparent in this
early 9-2 run, in which Arizona (12-4, 2-2) also was not shy about
masking its game plan to live or die by the three-point
shot.
Arizona’s Damon Stoudamire, the Pac-10 leader in scoring and
assists, jacked up a three-pointer the first time he touched the
ball, and when the shot heeled out, it was merely a prelude of
things to come for the Wildcats’ senior star.
With Edney, Toby Bailey, and Cameron Dollar taking turns
guarding Stoudamire trying their best to force him left,
where his shot is less accurate Stoudamire endured a
horrendous shooting performance, in which he missed 11 of 12
three-point attempts.
On the other end of the court was Edney Stoudamire’s
friend and nemesis who took the open shot when it was there,
scored 19 points to go with a season-high nine rebounds, and in
short, did all the things necessary to help his team win.
"Tonight Tyus established that if he’s not the best point guard
in the country, he’s at least among the top few," teammate Dollar
said.
But UCLA was not lacking for heroes on this night. If not for
freshman Bailey’s career high 12 rebounds (seven of them offensive)
and nine points off the bench, it could have a been a much
different contest.
Bailey was everywhere on the offensive boards, and was
instrumental in UCLA’s 9-0 run during the last 3:25 of the first
half, which enabled the Bruins to take a 35-26 lead into the locker
room.
"I think we just wanted it more," Bailey said. "They weren’t
used to guards rebounding like that."
Arizona wasn’t used to playing catch up for that matter.
In the second half, the Wildcats closed to within three points
on two separate occasions, but UCLA pulled away for good with just
over six minutes to play when Ed O’Bannon hit two of his game-high
21 points on a long jumper.
The two teams traded baskets until Arizona still trailing
by seven points was forced to foul. Finally, with 0:01 left
Charles O’Bannon threw down a seemingly meaningless dunk for the
Bruins’ 10-point winning margin, dealing Arizona only its second
ever double-digit loss at McKale Center under head coach Lute
Olson, dating back to 1983-84.
"That just adds a little exclamation to the victory," Charles
O’Bannon said.