DOUGLAS A REAL SHOOTING STAR AT NEW MEXICO.

Byline: BILLY WITZ

There were 35 against Colorado State. Then 34 against Wyoming. A career-high 40 against UNLV. Then 39 against BYU. Then 32 against Utah.

Ruben Douglas is piling up points these days like, well, corned beef stacked on a New York City Reuben.

The New Mexico senior is going through a stretch in which everyone knows he's getting the ball, everyone knows he's shooting it and the only question seems to be from where.

Douglas, the former Bell-Jeff of Burbank star, is averaging 27.2 points a game this season and is second in the nation in scoring, but if he continues to play like he has in the Mountain West Conference, where he's averaging 33 a game, he won't be looking up at anyone for long.

``If we were winning more games, he'd be a national story,'' first-year New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay said. ``When you're not winning it looks like he's just throwing up shots, but we billed him as an All-American candidate and he's playing like one.''

Not winning is the rub for Douglas. He left Arizona early in his sophomore year after Gilbert Arenas and Jason Gardner had moved ahead of him.

Now, he's playing as much as he wants and getting the ball whenever he wants, but the Lobos - who are down to seven scholarship players - are suffering through a 7-12 season. Meanwhile, Arizona is a national-title contender.

``The losing is the tough part,'' Douglas said. ``You lose sleep at night, especially if you're a senior. You don't want to leave college with a season like this.''

It's been a dreadful season all around. The Lobos lost two post players - JC transfer Shelton Colwell, who didn't qualify, and Patrick Dennehy, who transferred to Baylor - before it started.

Then in the second game of the season, the other cornerstone of the team, senior guard Senque Carey, suffered a spinal-cord injury that left him paralyzed for more than two weeks and required surgery last week.

``It's been tough without Senque,'' Douglas said. ``He was my friend, we both came here together from the Pac-10 (Carey transferred from Washington), we ran laps, did all those things to become better players and all of a sudden that's your life right there. When you see that, you realize that if (pro) basketball doesn't work out, I'll be happy I'm living and healthy.''

When McKay took over from Fran Fraschilla, who was fired amid widespread player discontent, he had to convince Douglas - who led the MWC in scoring last season - not to leave for the NBA, a move that served the best interests of both parties.

``Part of our conversation was that he was going to have a major role in the offense, and we were going to give him some decision-making options,'' McKay said. ``It's a bit of a change to be so reliant on one person. Ruben is the best scorer I've ever been around, so it's in our interest to get him continuous touches.''

Douglas leads the Lobos in virtually every category - points, rebounds (6.0), steals (26), turnovers (77) and is second in assists (35), a number McKay said should be higher but for the less than adequate finishing of some of his teammates. He's taken 176 free throws, more than 100 more than the next player on the team.

Yet, the most eye-catching numbers are those Douglas posts in the scoring column.

He's shooting 60 percent on 3-pointers in the Mountain West and only once this season - when Pepperdine held him to 12 points - has he scored less than 20. This despite being the focus of everyone's defense.

``He kicked our (butt),'' Utah coach Rick Majerus, who annually fields one of the nation's best defensive teams, said after Douglas had 32 against the Utes on Monday night. ``He's not Michael Jordan, but he's a damn good college player.

``He reminds me of Austin Carr of Notre Dame. He can take any shot he wants - he's got a total green light - he's got a good drive game, a good post game, he's a really good foul shooter and he can go left or right.''

McKay praised Douglas' competitiveness and his old-school mentality and said he's made strides in trusting his teammates.

``I've gone through a lot since I left high school,'' Douglas said. ``I went through the tough route, but this is my last season, so I'm trying to go out with a bang.''

Or at least go down shooting.

--New game: His team now plays in front of crowds of 100 on a good night and he doesn't coach any future NBA players, but former UCLA assistant coach Steve Spencer is right at home in his second year as the head coach at Orange Coast College.

The Pirates, employing the same pressing defense Spencer implemented with success at UCLA two years ago, are 16-10 and have more than doubled last year's victory total.

``It's been an awesome experience,'' said Spencer, who left UCLA because he wanted to become a head coach. ``We're small, but we try to wreak as much havoc as we can.

``I give the kids a lot of credit - they work, sometimes on the graveyard shift, they have to drive 1 1/2 hours, but they want to learn and they want to win. We're having a lot of fun together.''

--Eager Beaver: Oregon State forward Brian Jackson put the hurt on USC and UCLA last weekend, scoring 44 points in the Beavers' first sweep in L.A. since 1988. But it's nothing compared to the pain he's going through just to play.

Jackson suffered an abdominal strain last season, then aggravated it during the summer and again in early January.

He takes a cortisone shot every one to two weeks in his abdominal region, and six shots of muscle relaxants in his back about once a week. He also takes four Tylenol a day, other anti- inflammatories, and plays with his mid-section wrapped.

``I mean, it hurts to play, and I know I can't do the things I'd like to be able to do out there,'' Jackson told the Oregonian. ``But it's so fun, I can't keep myself off the floor.''

--Bullseye: Stanford has played four ranked teams - Arizona, Florida, Xavier and Oregon - and beaten them all.

``We see a number in front of our opponent, and we go after guys,'' said Cardinal center Rob Little, whose team has lost to Washington, Richmond and Montana.

--Cardinal coup: National signing day for football was Wednesday, but it turned out to be a huge day for the Stanford basketball team. Three Cardinal football signees - receiver Mark Bradford, tight end Evan Moore and Jai Miller - should be contributors next season in basketball.

--Pizza denied: USC coach Henry Bibby has benched players and berated them, but his best punishment came after the Trojans were run off the court by Penn this season.

Not only did he deprive them of their postgame pizza, he sent it over to the Penn locker room.

--Double dribbles: For USF's John Cox, who is leading the West Coast Conference at 23 points a game in conference play, putting the ball in the basket is all relative. His cousin is Kobe Bryant. ... Gene Keady recently joined Bob Knight as the only coaches to win 250 games in the Big Ten Conference. ... Arizona State has been more keel over than cardiac kids. The Sun Devils' victory over Cal snapped a losing streak at 17 games when they trailed at halftime.

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- Billy Witz