Inexperienced Bruins take a pounding in Puerto Rico

Published: Monday, November 30, 1998

Monday, November 30, 1998

M.HOOPS: Fourth-place finish against top teams in country shows importance of turnovers

By Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Staff

The Bruins' new uniforms aren't the only things coming back from the Caribbean black-and-blue.

A bruised record, psyche and some beaten-up bodies will also accompany UCLA as it returns from its stint in the three-day Puerto Rico Shootout.

After squeaking past San Francisco in the opening round, the Bruins (2-2) got pounded by fifth-ranked Maryland in the semifinals, then blew a halftime lead against No. 4 Kentucky Saturday in a consolation game. As a result, UCLA finished fourth in the eight-team tournament.

"I told our kids that playing the No. 4 and No. 5 teams in the country is better for us than any patsies we could have played," UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said. "I told them this is the just a glimpse of our potential and now we have to perform to that.''

Despite the 66-62 loss to Kentucky, UCLA's potential was best exhibited in Saturday's third-place game.

The Bruins jumped out to a 32-27 halftime lead and were within striking distance at the end, but could never recover from a 13-point run by Kentucky that put the Wildcats up 56-45 with 6:44 to play.

In addition, for the second contest in a row, UCLA suffered from a sluggish second-half start.

A day after allowing Maryland to outscore them 17-6 in the half's opening minutes, the Bruins turned the ball over twice in the first three minutes and the Wildcats began the half with a 10-4 run.

"My whole life I've always been told the most important time in any half is the first five minutes, and it was here as well, as they used that time to get back in it instead of us staying in the lead," Lavin said.

Kentucky (5-1), which had connected on only three of 34 three-point attempts in its first two games in the tourney, went 9-for-23 from behind the arc. In the meantime, UCLA hit on only three of 13 attempts, making its second half comeback futile.

The bright spot for the Bruins came from freshman center Jerome Moiso, who finished with 25 points in only 25 minutes, including half of UCLA's 30 in the second half.

"I felt comfortable in the first half and better in the second half," he said. "It worked out for me but not for my team, so we have to get better."

Though Moiso is correct that the Bruins need to work together, there was a marked improvement from UCLA's performances earlier in the tournament.

Its 13 turnovers were cause for celebration after UCLA committed 24 in both games against Maryland and San Francisco. So many turnovers against USF is one thing, but against one of the elite teams in the nation, it is quite another.

After UCLA was able to overcome its sloppy play by overtaking San Francisco in the final minutes of its 69-62 Thanksgiving victory, Lavin knew his team was in trouble against the Terrapins (7-0).

"If we play the way we did (against USF) against Maryland," Lavin said, "we might get blitzkrieged by 70."

He may have only been half-kidding.

Taking to the court in special black jerseys with blue lettering - the uniform will be worn in selected road games throughout the year - UCLA took an early 17-15 lead midway through the first half.

Maryland, however, hit a trio of three-pointers in a two-minute span and never looked back as it built a 32-24 halftime lead and an eventual 70-54 win.

As the game wore on, UCLA's inexperience was no match for the Maryland defense. It didn't help that sophomore guard Baron Davis missed the entire tournament because of injury.

In addition to their 24 turnovers, the Bruins connected on only 33 per cent of their field goal attempts and missed 18 of their final 21 three-point attempts.

"Pressure like we can exert gets you out of your offense," Maryland head coach Gary Williams said. "You can work things like that at this time of year against young players."

When put in the perspective of the rest of Maryland's victims, UCLA's 16-point loss was not all that embarrassing. The Terrapins had been winning by an average of 42 points (including an 82-32 win over American in the opening round) and went on to beat Pittsburgh 87-52 in the championship contest.

Against USF, sophomore point guard Earl Watson led UCLA with 17 points - even after having 11 stitches to close a cut on his shooting arm after a fall in the Bruins' big opening-round win.

Trying to avoid a first-round loss in a preseason tournament for the fourth consecutive year, freshman forward Matt Barnes made four huge free throws over the final three minutes to help UCLA hold off the Dons (4-1), who went on to upset 13th-ranked Xavier.

UCLA battled back from a 40-36 halftime deficit with a 16-3 run to open the second half, but allowed USF to tie it up 52-52 with several unsuccessful trips down the floor.

UCLA didn't take the lead for good until Barnes made two free throws with 3:15 to play for a 58-57 lead.

"This was a gut-check victory. They were challenged and they responded," Lavin said. "That's what I'm pleased with."

Now, as for those black jerseys ... well, he can't be too happy with those.

Daily Bruin wire services contributed to this report.The Associated Press

Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince pressures UCLA's Matt Barnes. Kentucky won the game, 66-62.

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