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Friday, February 27, 1998

Bruins hope to train Huskies into accepting loss

M.HOOPS: Trip to Seattle puts team to biggest test since McCoy's departure

By Emmanuelle Ejercito

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

PULLMAN, Wash - The No. 18 UCLA men's basketball team will face its biggest and tallest test since the departure of center Jelani McCoy two weeks ago.

The Bruins (21-6 overall, 11-4 Pac-10) will travel to Seattle on Sunday for the second leg of their Washington tour and will tip-off against the University of Washington at Edmundson Pavilion.

When the two teams met last month at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA played a stellar game for 30 minutes and built up a 30-point lead before the Huskies (16-9, 9-7) almost pawed their way back. The Bruins would hang on to win 105-94.

However, McCoy was there to help J.R. Henderson battle against Washington's twin version of the Space Needle - seven-foot starters Todd MacCulloch and Patrick Femerling. McCoy had 16 points and 10 rebounds while MacCulloch spent a lot of time on the pine with early fouls.

MacCulloch, who averages 18.7 and 9.7 rebounds ppg, is crucial to the Huskies' offenses. While on the bench, the Bruins outscored Washington 43-27. But, when MacCulloch was on the floor, the Huskies had a 67-62 advantage.

"We've got to keep (MacCulloch) off the court as much as possible for us to do well," Henderson said. "He's their leading scorer, leading rebounder, so obviously we are going to shut him down if we want to win the game."

Though the Bruins are smaller, they hope to use their quickness as an advantage.

"We're definitely going try and press them to get them to play our style of play," Henderson said. "Hopefully, it will cause a lot of turnovers and get them into foul trouble."

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