Bruins scrap zone, belly up on 'D' and feast on threes.

Byline: Rob Moseley The Register-Guard

Two days after Oregon's Aaron Brooks set a career high for points, and two days after UCLA allowed Oregon State to make 10 three-pointers, the Bruins came to McArthur Court and just about shut down the high-scoring UO point guard.

With true freshman Jordan Farmar spearheading the effort with his defense on Brooks, the Bruins held the Ducks to season lows of 12 three-point attempts and just three makes - two in the final minute - as UCLA beat Oregon 70-62 on Sunday.

"We just wanted to play defense, get into our man and apply extreme ball pressure," Farmar said. "We were coming around screens really tight, our bigs did a good job extending; we were just close to them, so they couldn't get many good looks off."

On Friday, Brooks made four of Oregon's 11 three-pointers in a win over USC, and the Bruins allowed the Beavers to hit 10-of-16 three-pointers in an OSU victory.

Both trends were reversed Sunday, as the Bruins played tight man-to-man defense on the perimeter and the Ducks struggled to adjust, with Brooks accounting for just eight points before making two late three-pointers.

"The coaching was smarter - I didn't play any stupid zone," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "And I played more guys, and I got more rest for our players."

Howland called Sunday's game the best of Farmar's young career, at least on the defensive end. But as player and coach noted, it was a team effort for the Bruins on defense.

"It was intensity, it was passion," Farmar said. "We just didn't play together (Friday), the way we did today. Today we just showed true toughness, and we just made it happen."

While Farmar provided the spark on the defensive end, Brian Morrison came through on offense for UCLA. He hit two three-pointers late in the first half to help the Bruins take a nine-point lead into halftime, then hit three more in the second half.

None was bigger than Morrison's shot with 2:36 left in the game, when the Ducks had rallied from as many as 15 points down to close within two points at 56-54. Morrison's three pushed the lead to five, and started a 9-0 run for the Bruins.

Morrison finished 5-of-6 for the game on three-pointers, and 8-of-14 for the weekend. That from a player who was shooting less than 30 percent from behind the arc entering conference play.

"I felt like I was shooting well in practice," Morrison said, "just not in games."

Morrison is a senior transfer from North Carolina, and he considered coming to Oregon in 2002.

"It was pretty serious at one point, and then UCLA got involved," Morrison said. "Me and (UO coach Ernie) Kent, we just thought there'd be too many guards here. Last year it would have been Andre Joseph, James (Davis), so it just ended up being a better situation for me to go somewhere else."

On Sunday, Morrison recovered from his slow start to the season in a big way, complementing UCLA's best defensive performance of the year.

"I know I'm a good shooter; I knew it was going to come," Morrison said. "My shots went down tonight and I was glad it happened, but defense is what won the game."

CAPTION(S):

UCLA's Janou Rubin (center) looks for a teammate under pressure from Oregon's Jordan Kent (2) and Kenny Love (right) during the first half of Sunday's game at McArthur Court.