GADZURIC SHOWS HIS STAYING POWER UCLA 64, CAL 57.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

The value of UCLA center Dan Gadzuric isn't about points, rebounds or momentum-changing dunks. It's simply about being there.

A 6-foot-11, 240-pound center who can beat guards up and down the court isn't worth much if he isn't on the court.

That point was made clear Saturday night in UCLA's 64-57 victory over Cal before 12,275 at Pauley Pavilion.

The victory, which halted the Bruins' two-game losing streak and put them into a four-way tie for third place in the loss column in the Pacific-10 Conference race, had Gadzuric's size-13 footprints all over it.

He scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for UCLA, but the key statistic of the night was the number of minutes he played: 34.

``The only adjustment we made today was to keep Dan in the game,'' UCLA forward Matt Barnes said. ``It's pretty obvious how good we are when we have Dan out there.''

They were far from flawless as Cal, the Pac-10's best defense, controlled the tempo as UCLA equaled its lowest point total of the season.

Jason Kapono scored 17 points and Billy Knight added 16, with each hitting tough shots in the clutch. But the difference was Gadzuric.

The Bruins (14-5, 6-3) have learned the hard way what it's like not to have him. Gadzuric picked up 27 fouls in his previous six games. He'd fouled out of three in a row and then picked up three first-half fouls in Thursday's loss to Stanford. UCLA's collapse against Arizona can be traced to his foul trouble.

Gadzuric, counseled by his teammates and coaches in recent days about picking up silly fouls, seemed to get the message. He didn't pick up his first foul against Cal until 8:26 was left in the game - an achievement so remarkable the student section gave him a rousing ovation.

``I learned,'' said Gadzuric, who did commit one silly foul - knocking down Joe Shipp on a 3-pointer. ``I'm still going to be a presence, but I have to play with a lot of smarts and not just jump with the guy. Sometimes I have to play with my hands up. It feels a lot better to stay in the game.''

Even Saturday, Gadzuric was more noticeable by his absence than his presence. When he's on the bench, Barnes and T.J. Cummings are forced to play in the post and with the quality big men in the Pac-10, the difference is noticeable.

When Gadzuric took a breather in the first half, Cal went on a 10-2 run to lead 20-17.

UCLA coach Steve Lavin reinserted Gadzuric and the Bruins soon after stormed off to a 12-0 run, to which he contributed a fast-break dunk, and never trailed again.

In the second half, Gadzuric went to the bench with UCLA ahead 44-41. On its next two possessions, Shipp and Jamal Sampson scored on follow shots, and Gadzuric immediately was sent back into the game with 9:52 to play.

Cal (14-4, 5-3) scored just one more basket until the final 14 seconds.

``He clogs up the middle pretty good,'' Cal coach Ben Braun said. ``You have to honor him at both ends. He's probably the most active post player in our league. He affects the game pretty good - he's a big factor.''

Cal had hoped to at worst neutralize Gadzuric or at best land him in foul trouble with a parade of big men - the 6-foot-11 Sampson, 6-10 Amit Tamir and 6-11 Solomon Hughes.

Yet, they never were much of a factor offensively. Tamir, who missed four 3-pointers, didn't score; Sampson had nine points and had seven rebounds; and Hughes had just two rebounds, three points, two turnovers and two blocks.

Afterward, the Bears were kicking themselves for not challenging Gadzuric more.

``What I say to all the big guys is, `How many free throws did we shoot?' ''

The answer, as Braun knew, was six.

Instead, Cal was content to shoot 3-pointers. After sinking a school-record 15 3-pointers in knocking off USC on Thursday, the Bears reverted to form as the worst 3-point shooting team in the conference.

Cal, which was shooting 29 percent on 3-pointers before USC, made just 5 of 25. In the second half, when UCLA went to a matchup zone, the Bears were 1 for 13.

Shantay Legans, who hit a game-winning 3-pointer against USC, was 0 for 6 from the 3-point line.

``We should have gotten the ball inside more,'' Cal swingman Brian Wethers said. ``(Gadzuric's) presence affects a lot of what we do, (but) for us to not go inside was foolish on our part.''

Cal's only 3-pointer of the second half, by Shipp from the corner, cut UCLA's lead to 52-50 with 3:18 left. But Knight, with the shot clock running down, hit a fadeaway 15-footer to give the Bruins a 54-50 advantage.

Ryan Forehan-Kelly missed a 3-pointer for Cal and Kapono answered with a tough fall-away over Sampson on the baseline to put UCLA ahead 56-50 with 1:53 to play. The Bears never were closer than four again.

``Our backs weren't against the wall,'' Barnes said. ``But we needed to chop that losing streak. We're capable of winning the rest of our games.''

Particularly if Gadzuric is on the court.

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

UCLA's Jason Kapono pulls down a rebound during the Bruins' seven-point victory Saturday night over California.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) GAME RECAP

(2) PAC-10 STANDINGS