Travis Wear was poised for a comeback. All his full recovery from injury needed was a bump into the starting lineup.
After being diagnosed with appendicitis in late October, the redshirt senior forward missed the first three games of the season, slowly working himself back into the rotation.
Bouncing back from zero and two point performances against UC Santa Barbara and Missouri, respectively, Wear had his best shooting performance of the season Saturday, sinking five of his eight field goal attempts for 10 points in a 95-71 win over the Prairie View A&M Panthers.
Wear started 31 games for the Bruins’ Pac-12 title winning team last season, but was the team’s sixth man for much of his early comeback. On Saturday night, he was given the nod at forward alongside fellow redshirt senior and brother David Wear, tying a season high with 22 minutes and adding three rebounds.
“I appreciate Travis being an unselfish individual because he was starting (last year),” said coach Steve Alford. “The lineup tonight was what we were going with on opening day. The Wears have earned that, being fifth-year seniors and what they’ve done here.”
Meanwhile, sophomore forward/center Tony Parker, who started in UCLA’s first nine games, scored four points in 18 minutes off the bench. He made his first appearance shortly after the first media timeout, slotting into a first substitution for UCLA that normally just includes freshman guards Bryce Alford and Zach LaVine.
“By no means was this punishment or anything to Tony,” Alford said. “He’s been doing a very nice job for us and it gives him a chance to come in with a lot of energy with Zach and Bryce.”
In his new starting role, Wear appeared to have more control with his jump shot, an element of his game that made him one of UCLA’s biggest mid-range threats for much of last season.
“I think tonight I was definitely able to get into the flow,” Wear said. “The game came to me easier tonight than it has in previous games. Both my brother and I have mid-range step-forwards and that’s my game.”
The win for UCLA (9-1) comes on the heels of a loss to Missouri in which the Bruins were outscored 45-28 in the second half.
On Saturday, the Bruins made up for the scoring drought by never stepping off the gas pedal. Sophomore guard Jordan Adams finished with a team-high 18 points, and four other UCLA players followed him in notching double figures, with five total Bruins sinking at least one three-point attempt.
What Alford called “lackadaisical” stretches of defense were again present in brief stretches, however, including a span of 3:51 in the second half in which the Panthers (2-8) outscored the Bruins 14-5.
“The habit forming has got to come on the defensive end,” Alford said. “We’ve got to be able to take an eight-point lead into the second half and know that if we don’t shoot the ball well, we’ll still win because of the habits that are formed defensively, and we’re not to that point yet.”
UCLA likely hopes the habits stick before Thursday, when the team heads to Madison Square Garden to take on No. 8 Duke.
“It’s a game you always think about as a kid. Playing against Duke, they’re a very good team every year,” said sophomore guard/forward Kyle Anderson. “Coach K does a very good job with them, so it’s a test for our team.”