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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

WSU Floored Again At Ucla Full-Court Press Pushes Bruins’ Home Winning Streak Against Cougs To 41 Games

Washington State had fun while the party lasted, but it was only a matter of time before UCLA showed up. Twenty minutes, to be exact.

“It wasn’t so much anything that we did or didn’t do as much as UCLA just decided to play,” WSU coach Kevin Eastman said, summing up the eighth-ranked Bruins’ 88-68 victory over the Cougars Thursday night before 10,024 fans at Pauley Pavilion.

Freshman point guard Baron Davis scored 19 of his 21 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half as UCLA turned a 34-33 halftime deficit into a blowout, securing its 41st consecutive home victory over WSU.

The Cougars, who dropped to 8-11 overall and 1-7 in the Pacific-10 Conference, are now a maddening 0-33 at Pauley Pavilion.

“The frustration is beyond words,” said WSU senior Carlos Daniel, who led the Cougars with 18 points and seven rebounds.

The victory kept UCLA (16-3, 5-2) within two games of first-place Arizona, but the Bruins seemed vulnerable, especially early.

“They came in with a great game plan,” UCLA coach Steve Lavin said. “They were deliberate, got great ball movement, man movement, spacing and screening and basically shredded us up.”

That was a minor miracle, considering UCLA’s talent and WSU’s history of Pauley poundings, but the Bruins have been susceptible to indifference before.

UCLA never seemed too concerned with WSU, right down to the game program, which featured backup guard Brandon Loyd on the cover. It was as if the Bruins knew they could turn it on at any time - and they could.

“Down the road, we can’t afford to come out like that on the road in a conference game or we’ll be down by 20,” Lavin said.

When UCLA opened the second half in a full-court press, the momentum turned almost instantly. The Bruins forced turnovers on five of eight WSU possessions, scoring seven straight points to take a 40-34 lead just 2 minutes into the half.

“That’s what you do when you’re better,” observed New Jersey Nets coach John Calipari, who was doing a little scouting from courtside. “You can’t let a well-coached team pass all over you (as the Cougars had done to UCLA in the first half).”

UCLA stayed with its press, and the onslaught continued as the Bruins stretched their lead to 68-49 with 10:12 left. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Davis was the key, beating WSU off the dribble, in transition and from the perimeter.

“He sees the floor, has the vision,” Lavin said. “He has the kinds of things you can’t teach - those are the kinds of things that a Brevin Knight or a Jason Kidd or a Tyus Edney or a Baron Davis have.”

And he’s only going to get better.

“Once he gets some experience, he’ll make a little headier decisions and get the whole team involved,” WSU’s Daniel said. “But for a freshman, he’s good.”

Davis was more than good, and he had help. Center J.R. Henderson made 8 of 12 field goals and finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, four steals and one blocked shot.

WSU forward Kojo Mensah-Bonsu had his moments against Henderson, but the 6-foot-5 junior lacked the physical tools to consistently contain his 6-9 counterpart.

“Henderson is very good and he’s a lot more aggressive than people give him credit for,” said Mensah-Bonsu, who finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Chris Crosby added 13 points for WSU and Kab Kazadi scored 10.

The Cougars committed a season-high 29 turnovers. “That’s as quick as I’ve seen UCLA look all year,” Eastman said.

UCLA 88, Washington St. 68

Washington St. (8-11) - Daniel 7-13 4-8 18, Crosby 4-10 2-4 13, Nelson 2-6 0-0 4, Kazadi 4-7 1-2 10, Pengelly 2-5 0-0 6, Mensah-Bonsu 4-5 2-4 10, Slotemaker 2-5 2-4 7, Hutchens 0-1 0-0 0, Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Clark 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-53 11-22 68.

UCLA (16-3) - Henderson 8-12 1-3 17, Johnson 5-12 3-4 13, Bailey 4-8 4-6 14, Watson 2-3 0-2 5, Davis 9-12 2-3 21, McCoy 4-7 4-6 12, Reed 2-3 0-2 4, Knight 0-3 0-0 0, Lloyd 0-0 0-0 0, Hines 0-0 2-5 2, Daley 0-2 0-0 2, Ramasar 0-0 0-0 0, Farnham 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-62 16-31 88.- Halftime-Washingtons St. 34, UCLA 33. 3-Point goals-Washington St. 7-15 (Crosby 3-7, Pengelly 2-4, Kazadi 1-1, Slotemaker 1-2, Anderson 0-1), UCLA 4-11 (Bailey 2-3, Watson 1-2, Davis 1-2, Johnson 0-2, Daley 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Washington St. 34 (Daniel 7), UCLA 30 (Henderson 7). Assists-Washington St. 10 (Kazadi, Slotemaker 3), UCLA 13 (Davis 7). Total fouls-Washington St. 19, UCLA 17. Technicals-McCoy. A-10,024.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Coming up Saturday: WSU at USC, 5 p.m.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Coming up Saturday: WSU at USC, 5 p.m.