BRUINS HEAD OFF DISASTER; DAVIS' 22 POINTS HELP UCLA SALVAGE SPLIT IN OREGON : UCLA 65, OREGON 63.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

Expect to see the black headband again. Very soon.

``I wore one my freshman year in high school, and I might have to do it again,'' said guard Baron Davis, whose headband matched UCLA's black uniforms Saturday at Oregon.

``After the way I shot against Oregon State, I needed some kind of good luck.''

He had just enough, matching a career-high with 22 points and leading UCLA to a 65-63 victory before 9,087 at rowdy McArthur Court - a victory that was as important as it was surprising.

The Bruins trailed by 12 points early, rallied late in the first half and, with Davis in charge, led for most of the second. The winning basket was a tip-in by freshman center Dan Gadzuric with 1:28 left, as the Ducks failed to score on their last four possessions.

In winning at Mac Court for the second time in six years, the Bruins (11-3, 3-1) secured the weekend split essential for keeping pace in the Pac-10. They just did it in unexpected fashion. No one loses at Oregon State and wins at Oregon.

Of course, no one makes two 3-point shots in 0.8 seconds, either.

``It reflects the entire conference,'' Bruins coach Steve Lavin said. ``Look at the scores thus far. None of it makes any sense.''

Like UCLA panicking in the quiet of Oregon State's Gill Coliseum and, two days later, playing with supreme poise in the din of Mac Court.

Or forcing shots against OSU's passive zone defense and playing with patience against the Ducks' pressure man-to-man.

Or committing silly fouls against OSU's punchless attack and playing sound defense against Oregon's arsenal of scorers.

Maybe it wasn't the headbands. Maybe it was their heads.

``That game at Oregon State was ridiculous,'' Davis said as he munched on pizza and iced his surgically repaired left knee. ``It's good we put Oregon State behind us and prepared for this game. Instead of being 0-2, we go home with a split, and that's what we wanted.

``The other night, we looked for the first open shot and thought it was a good shot. But it wasn't. It was bait. As the point guard, I have to run the club.''

UCLA defeated Oregon by the same score it lost to Oregon State. Otherwise, there were no similarities. The Bruins shots 28 percent Thursday and 45.5 percent Saturday. They had 14 turnovers Thursday and nine Saturday, a season low. They committed 29 fouls Thursday and 14 fouls Saturday.

If Oregon State was one of the Bruins' worst losses in recent memory, then Oregon was one of their most spirited victories in years. A few weeks from now - after they've run the upcoming Cal-Stanford-USC-Louisville gauntlet - they may look back on Saturday as a breakthrough victory. Certainly, they recaptured the competitive edge gained against Arizona and lost at Oregon State. Chances are, the Ducks will not lose many in Mac Court.

``This was one of the poorest games Oregon has played,'' Lavin said. ``We may have had something to do with that. But they didn't have their usual aggressiveness.''

The victory was especially satisfying for Davis, considering he committed two turnovers in the final 30 seconds at Oregon State. He started slowly Saturday, as well, with several early mistakes. But as the evening unfurled and the pressure mounted, he found his rhythm.

``Baron Davis took over as far as his toughness and intensity,'' Ducks coach Ernie Kent said. ``At one point, he dribbled through our entire team.''

The Ducks jumped to a 27-15 lead before Davis and sophomore guard Ryan Bailey led a 20-4 surge that gave the Bruins a four-point halftime advantage. They led for all but four minutes of the second half and took their final lead when Gadzuric tipped in Jerome Moiso's miss with 1:28 remaining.

Oregon's Alex Scales missed a 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds left, and JaRon Rush grabbed the last of his game-high 12 rebounds. He missed the ensuing free throw, but Gadzuric tipped the ball to Davis.

Instead of holding the ball, Davis tried to kill the clock by lobbing it into midair near UCLA's basket. His ploy failed, however, as Scales tried to gain control on the right side. Before he could attempt a desperation shot, Earl Watson knocked the ball loose.

``It scared coach to death,'' Davis said.

Otherwise, a ho-hum weekend on the Oregon Trail.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Jerome Moiso, right, drives to the basket against Oregon's Mike Carson in the Bruins' 65-63 victory.

(2) UCLA's Baron Davis (5), who scored 22 points, drives against Oregon's Darius Wright.

Thomas Boyd/Associated Press