Sunday’s game against Oregon didn’t just represent
UCLA’s last home game of the 2005-06 season. It also marked
the official end of the Steve Lavin era in Westwood. On Sunday,
seniors Cedric Bozeman, Ryan Hollins, Michael Fey, and Janou Rubin,
the last holdovers from the final days of Lavin’s coaching
tenure, started and played in their final game at Pauley Pavilion.
Each senior was acknowledged with his family prior to the game and
was awarded the start on Sunday and a final celebratory
substitution at game’s end by UCLA coach Ben Howland.
“This was special for them. They won’t realize it until
later, but they’ll have a vivid memory of today,” said
Howland, who then perfectly recalled his final collegiate home game
as a player at Weber State. Of course, that memory will be all the
more pleasant leaving Pauley Pavilion with a victory. Bozeman and
Hollins were quick to recall that in their first starts at UCLA,
the Bruins lost. Trailing 28-23 to Oregon at halftime on Sunday,
Hollins had an uneasy feeling in his stomach in the locker room. He
was apprehensive about a loss affecting UCLA’s position in
the Pac-10 standings, where the Bruins lead Cal and Washington by
only one game. He also wanted to avoid his career at Pauley
Pavilion ending the same way it began ““ with a loss to
Oregon. “I was thinking, “˜We can’t lose this
man,'” Hollins said. “How could we lose our last
game here? We couldn’t do that.” The Bruins
didn’t. Standing at the free-throw line with under a minute
left and the game securely in hand, Bozeman admitted he had mixed
emotions. Among the thoughts that popped into his head were pregame
rituals with teammates at Pauley Pavilion, the student section
chanting his name, and UCLA’s two-game trip to the Bay Area
this week, which stopped him from getting choked up. “I
couldn’t get too emotional because I know we have games
ahead,” said Bozeman, who finished with eight points, three
rebounds and three assists, all highs for the seniors. “We
just made sure we wanted to have fun and end this day on a positive
note. It’s just another chapter to my story.” For
Hollins, his only request besides a victory in his swan song was a
key to the arena. “I need one,” said Hollins, who
scored seven points and had two blocks in 21 minutes on Sunday.
“It’s definitely a great place to play. There are so
many memories I’m going to take from here.”
PAULEY PALOOZA: In the first half of all of
UCLA’s 17 home games this season, a member of the student
section was chosen at random to answer a trivia question and win a
prize. Somewhat miraculously, students went 17-for-17 answering the
multiple-choice question, which is perhaps testament to Bruin fans
being among the most knowledgeable in college basketball, or quite
possibly some home-court advantage hijinks.
DRIBBLERS: In both games against UCLA this
season, Oregon leading scorer Malik Hairston only managed six
points. … The Bruins outscored the Beavers and Ducks in the
second half by a combined 99-53 advantage. … The 1967-68 UCLA
men’s basketball and NCAA championship team was honored
during the first half on Sunday. … Fey scored the first points in
each of the Bruins’ last two games. … Sunday’s
attendance was 11,463.