Monday, February 10, 1997
M.HOOPS:
Bruins avenge earlier loss to the Cardinal with an important
victoryBy Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
Revenge proves itself a great motivator once again.
Finally earning some redemption for the infamous 48-point loss
to Stanford, the UCLA men’s basketball team spanked the 18th-ranked
Cardinal 87-68 in front of a packed house at Pauley Pavilion on
Saturday afternoon.
Along with the Arizona win earlier this year, Saturday’s triumph
in front of a nationwide viewing audience is the strongest argument
yet for favorable judgment for the Bruins from the NCAA Tournament
Selection Committee.
The win also meant that the Bruins (13-7, 8-3 in the Pacific 10)
were able to keep pace with crosstown rival USC, which earned a
sweep of the Bay Area schools this weekend to extend its own Pac-10
record to 8-3.
But for a team that recorded such an important victory, there
wasn’t much "whooping it up" on the Bruins’ part after the
game.
"Obviously, it’s a very happy locker room," UCLA head coach
Steve Lavin said. "But, what I just stressed to the team was
basically what I said after the Cal game: ‘You can’t get too down
because this is the most competitive, wildest, wackiest Pac-10
conference in decades. And when you win a game, you can’t get too
up.’"
This stoicism was best displayed by Charles O’Bannon, who
despite having led UCLA to victory with 23 points and 12 rebounds
(both game highs), dribbled away the last 20 seconds of the game,
and at the sound of the buzzer, shook some hands and quietly walked
into the locker room.
No fists in the air, no ‘raising the ceiling’ gestures, and no
taunting directed at the Cardinal (13-6, 6-5) or their fans.
Instead, what O’Bannon displayed was a demeanor that projected
confidence, along with a skepticism toward celebrating too early in
the season.
"We’re happy to win, but it’s not a national championship in any
way," O’Bannon said. "We felt that we were supposed to win. Just
walk off the court. No taunting. When they beat us by 48 points,
they didn’t parade around and rush the court or anything.
"(But) this was huge, especially with USC playing extremely well
and us losing to Cal two days ago. This game was a must win."
To get the team extra-motivated, just in case revenge wasn’t
enough motivation, Lavin arranged for a familiar face to give the
team a pep talk before the game.
Ed O’Bannon, who brought with him the fondest of memories in
UCLA’s recent history, used the NBA All-Star break to pay the team
a visit for an impromptu motivational speech and a dose of cheering
from the end of the UCLA bench.
"Lavin, he’s an emotional guy," Ed O’Bannon said. "He wanted me
to come to the locker room to say a few things to the players. I
was cool with that. I’d do anything to help this team win.
"But, to tell you the truth, I really didn’t say anything much.
I just told them to go out there and play hard. (The players) are
the ones that went out and played. I didn’t do nothing. I don’t see
what the big deal is."
Lavin jokingly said after the game that he wanted to suit Ed
O’Bannon up for the game when he first saw him. But on Saturday,
his former teammates did well enough on their own.
The top six players in UCLA’s rotation all tallied double
figures in points. And Cameron Dollar starred for the Bruins Â
forcing All-American guard Brevin Knight into nine turnovers and
6-of-16 shooting from the field  while scoring 11 points
himself.
Stanford center Tim Young, who came in averaging 16.1 points per
game, was held to one field goal and one free throw. UCLA also
outrebounded the Cardinal 36-28, and shot an identical 57.7 percent
from the field (15-of-26) in each half.
AARON TOUT
Charles O’Bannon led the Bruins with 23 points, including this
baseline jumper over Stanford’s Tim Young.