BAILEY DRAWS PESKY CROWD.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

He catches the ball and prepares to shoot, but the defender is waiting. So he fakes, then dribbles to an opening, where another defender waits. He drives to the basket - another defender. He sneaks into the low post - another.

They are everywhere he goes. They are impeding his view. They are blocking his path. If not a guard then a forward, if not a forward then a center. They are a swarm of gnats he cannot dodge.

As a result, Toby Bailey's shots are down, his points are down and his frustration is up. Way up. He is trying to prevent forcing shots, but it is difficult.

"He has always been a scorer, always been asked to score," UCLA coach Jim Harrick said. "It's his nature. It's in his habits. Every coach he has ever played for has asked him to score. Shoot, I want him to score."

In 11 straight games through UCLA's Jan. 24 victory over USC, Bailey scored at least 14 points and attempted at least 10 shots. He was confident, relaxed - "so free," Harrick said. He made 50.7 percent of his 3-pointers and often was the Bruins' lone perimeter scorer.

But in the past five games he has reached double figures in shots and points only once, against Oregon, when he scored 25. His accuracy is down, too: 32 percent from 3-point range, 40 percent from the field.

"I think they're guarding me tighter than before," he said. "They aren't giving me the looks at the basket I was getting. Thursday (at Cal) I thought I could pump fake and go around my man and be open. But they had another guy flying at me.

"I'm trying to stay patient and be unselfish. I could say, 'It's messing up my average,' and, 'I've got to get my points.' But if we win and the other guys are getting open shots, that's fine. I'm not going to start gunning and mess up the rotation."

Bailey took eight shots at Cal and nine at Stanford, making a total of four. A few were forced, but 12 assists are proof of his patience - "if they're guarding me so closely," he said, "then other guys are open" - and for that he will be rewarded.

"We're going to designate some offense for him, to get him some shots and looks at the basket off single- and double-screens," Harrick said. "He's too good a shooter and too good a player for us not to be going to him."

Notes: Pacific-10 coordinator of officials Booker Turner said the UCLA-Stanford referees mishandled a television timeout situation which resulted in two UCLA points being taken off the scoreboard.

After a dead ball with 15:36 remaining, the game scorer signaled for a TV timeout. But the officials didn't see the signal and handed the ball to Charles O'Bannon. While the Stanford players walked to their bench - assuming the timeout would be called - O'Bannon passed to Jelani McCoy, whose dunk gave the Bruins a 44-42 lead.

Stanford protested, and after a prolonged discussion the basket was revoked.

"Each team is responsible for continuing play until a timeout is acknowledged by an official, and both teams and the scorer's table have been notified," Turner said in a memorandum released by the conference office. "The teams cannot react to a signal from the scorer's table or anticipate a timeout until an official gives the signal."

In other words: The officials missed a call, but the basket should have counted. UCLA lost 67-66.

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Photo (color) UCLA's Toby Bailey has drawn so many defenders that only his assists are up. Phil McCarten / Daily News