Just as the Bruins were sure that Brian Morrison would spark a
comeback to their ailing season, the flicker of hope was gone.
During the last 10 minutes of Wednesday afternoon’s practice,
Morrison landed on Janou Rubin’s foot, rolling his ankle and
thereby necessitating yet another night on the bench. “He had
his best practice and was finally ready, after two games of not
playing up to par,” coach Ben Howland said. “He was
shooting it well.” Morrison had returned to the court for
last week’s games against USC and St. John’s after
sitting out nine games with a pulled hamstring. Although his
numbers weren’t amazing, Morrison certainly brought some
aggressiveness to the struggling Bruin defense. UCLA also could
have used his perimeter shooting Thursday night ““ the Bruins
went 2-for-12 from the three-point line. “I was definitely
looking forward to playing,” Morrison said. “It’s
tough not to play and watch (instead).” Although he is not
expected to return to the court for Saturday’s game against
Washington, Morrison said his injury is being evaluated on a
day-to-day basis, and that he might be able to play. “It
definitely hurt us from the standpoint of depth,” Howland
said. “It’s really, really tough. I feel for
Brian.”
ONE WASHINGTON SPLIT, PLEASE: Leveled to a 5-5
conference mark, the Bruins are looking to use Saturday’s
game against Washington as yet another opportunity to get back on
some kind of track. “We have to come in here and right this
ship,” assistant coach Donny Daniels said after
Thursday’s loss. Washington defeated USC on Thursday night,
93-82, at the Sports Arena. The Huskies will be coming to Pauley
Pavilion amid a five-game winning streak, the team’s longest
in five years. UCLA defeated Washington, 86-84, at Seattle in early
January but needed an overtime period to pull it off Currently,
three Washington starters ““ guards Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson
and Will Conroy ““ are regularly scoring in double figures.
The Huskies are strong rebounders as well and will provide a
challenge for UCLA on the glass.