UCLA
Santa Clara
UCLA Wins Season Opener
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
November 19, 1998
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The future is now at UCLA and it looks impressive.
JaRon Rush scored 19 points and Jerome Moiso added 16 in their collegiate debuts as No. 11 UCLA won its first season opener since 1994, beating Santa Clara 89-76 Thursday night.
The Bruins started their youngest lineup ever of four freshmen and sophomore Earl Watson, who had 15 points and eight rebounds.
"We knew JaRon was going to be dynamic and explosive," UCLA coach Steve Lavin said. "He's been doing the same thing since we first saw him in the ninth grade. He's one of those special players that only comes around once in a long while."
Santa Clara (0-2) didn't prove nearly as troublesome as the last time the teams played. In 1995, the Broncos shocked the defending national champion Bruins in the first round of the Maui Invitational.
In 1996, UCLA lost in overtime to Tulsa in the Preseason NIT and last year, North Carolina dealt the Bruins the second-worst loss in school history in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout.
"This is a bigger win for our program than people realize," joked Lavin, who is 1-2 in openers in three seasons as coach.
NBA players Reggie Miller, Jim Jackson, Pooh Richardson, Tracy Murray, No. 1 draft pick Michael Olowokandi and rookie Toby Bailey - idled by the lockout that has delayed the start of the pro season - looked on in envy.
UCLA's youth showed at times, with missed shots and 15 turnovers. But Dan Gadzuric and Moiso - both 6-foot-10 and 20-year-old freshmen - displayed poise beyond their years.
They provided height in the middle that's been missing for three years in Westwood. Gadzuric excited the crowd with some blocked shots and had nine points without playing the second half.
"I was kind of nervous," said Moiso, a native of Guadeloupe, West Indies. "It's exciting to know what we can do even though we didn't play that well."
The Broncos got within four points with 13:13 remaining in the second half on Nathan Fast's shooting. He led Santa Clara with 25 points and Todd Wusching added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
"I didn't see lots of effort. I thought we digressed," Santa Clara coach Dick Davey said. "It was poorly played by us. We didn't get the shots we needed. Our rebounding was horrendous."
Watson and Rush steadied the Bruins in a 20-11 spurt that kept UCLA ahead 76-61 and ended Santa Clara's major threat.
UCLA point guard Baron Davis watched from the bench in street clothes, still recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He may see some playing time next week in the Puerto Rico Shootout.
Trailing by one point early, the Bruins put together their only other dominating run of the game to go ahead 22-9. Watson and Moiso had four points each as UCLA scored 14 straight. Twice more, Santa Clara trailed by 13 before cutting its deficit to eight at halftime.
