MAKE WAY FOR MYERS\Sub again rescues faltering UCLA\UCLA 69, OREGON ST. 60.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

He did not dream of this. Nor did it cross his mind when the alarm sounded just before 8 and he rolled out of bed and inhaled a bowl of cereal. "I thought it would just be another game and I'd get to play a little," Bob Myers said. "I didn't think anything like this would happen."

It was cute on Thursday, a nice little story when Myers gave UCLA a five-minute shot of muscle and adrenaline in an otherwise forgettable victory over Oregon.

But now - after Myers scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds in the Bruins' 69-60 victory over Oregon State Saturday, before 11,280 at Pauley Pavilion - now it is serious.

His scoring output matched his total for the entire season and was only 10 points shy of his previous career total. His 22 minutes more than tripled his previous high. Two hours after the game, his mug shot was splashed across the television screen on ABC's regional college basketball broadcast.

Now Myers is beyond anomaly. When he began bleeding from a cut on his neck in the second half, after two quick baskets and a steal, an Oregon State player said, "Good, anything to get him out of the game."

Bob Myers? Out of the game? He's played his way onto scouting reports and is rapidly ascending the Bruins' depth chart - especially with centers Jelani McCoy and omm'A Givens struggling and forward J.R. Henderson's back injury, which limited him to four minutes.

Whether Myers makes a significant impact at Cal on Thursday or at Stanford on Saturday is another matter entirely. But for now, he is the antidote to UCLA's lethargy.

"I want the players to watch Bob," Bruins coach Jim Harrick said. "He plays hard. He plays smart. He does what you tell him him to do in practice. . . . He's a fundamental machine."

A confluence of factors - from Oregon State's tactical moves to UCLA's sloppiness to Myers - turned what was expected to be a mundane game into a fascinating two hours, after which the Bruins were 15-5 and alone atop the Pacific-10, at 8-1.

To negate UCLA's overwhelming athletic advantage, Beavers coach Eddie Payne ordered a zone defense which forced the Bruins to score from the perimeter, and a time-consuming spread offense which made UCLA concentrate for extended periods on defense.

"After a while, it wears any team down," Payne said. "You become a pain in the ass is what you become."

And UCLA's few fast-break opportunities were usually wasted with turnovers, which have infected the body Bruin and are altering practice routines and substitution patterns. Kris Johnson and Toby Bailey had five each, bringing Bailey's total in the past five games to 22.

With 15:51 left in the first half omm'A Givens replaced Henderson, who departed for the locker room and treatment for his back. Then Cameron Dollar replaced McCoy, then Myers and Kevin Dempsey checked in. Finally, with 11:32 left, seldom-used freshman Brandon Loyd replaced Charles O'Bannon, and the Bruins had five reserves on the court.

"I wasn't even paying attention to the game," said Dempsey, who finished with 10 points, three assists and three steals. "Me and Loyd were seeing who was in the stands. Then (Harrick) pointed at me and I said, 'You serious?'

"But it was a kick in the pants for the starters."

Harrick knew the reserves were in no danger of losing control, Oregon State being the least talented team in the conference.

"I thought about leaving (the reserves) in for the rest of the half, but they'd probably get tired," Harrick said. "I don't mind doing something like that and I'd do it again. Hopefully, it was a good lesson for (the starters)."

It worked, too. Dempsey hit two 3-pointers and fed Myers on a textbook pick-and-roll, as the reserves outscored Oregon State 15-10. The crowd booed the starters when they returned, en masse, with 3:48 left.

Myers and Co. received a standing ovation.

"If (Myers and Dempsey) don't come off the bench and do what they do, we might have a win," Payne said.

Note: Harrick described Henderson's injury as a pulled back muscle. "He'll be fine by game time," Harrick said. But Henderson declined to evaluate his status for Cal. "I'll know more in the morning," he said.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

(color) Super sub Bob Myers leaves the UCLA-Oregon State game as the leading scorer. He finished with 20 points in 22 minutes. Phil McCarten / Daily News