UCLA Fends Off Arizona, 72-70 : College basketball: Bruins gain upper hand in the Pac-10 title race as Ed O’Bannon’s career-high 31 points highlight a crucial victory over Wildcats.

In a fever-pitch atmosphere, with the conference title race oh so close and UCLA looking for a leader, there was only one matchup that mattered Sunday:

Ed O’Bannon vs. the Arizona Wildcats.

And O’Bannon, playing with a reconstructed left knee and a resolute spirit, won.

With most of his teammates either injured or tightly guarded by Arizona’s changing defensive schemes or both, O’Bannon scored a career-high 31 points, propping the Bruins on his shoulders on the way to a 72-70 Pacific 10 victory before 12,653 at Pauley Pavilion.

“I was just trying to give Ed the ball and get out of his way,” said guard Cameron Dollar, who played 25 crucial minutes and came up with four steals.

O’Bannon scored 17 of UCLA’s 40 first-half points, leading UCLA to a seven-point halftime lead, then rose to answer Arizona every time the Wildcats challenged the Bruins in the second half.

The victory gave No. 6 UCLA a sweep of the 12th-ranked Wildcats, a sweep of this week’s two crucial home games against the Arizona schools--which the Bruins last week christened “Championship Weekend”--and improved the Bruins’ record to 18-2.

Most important, as the Bruins prepare for two tough games in Northern California Tuesday and Thursday, the victory gave UCLA an 11-2 conference record, two games ahead of Arizona and Arizona State.

It was UCLA’s first sweep of Arizona (19-6, 9-4) since 1991-92, the last time the Bruins won the conference championship.

On Sunday, senior Tyus Edney was nursing a sore left knee for the second game in a row and was unable to provide offensive support. Freshman swingman J.R. Henderson struggled, then left the game in the second half with a cramp. And senior center George Zidek did not score a point in 24 frustrating minutes of play.

So, while freshman Toby Bailey provided tough defense in limiting Arizona guard Damon Stoudamire to only three second-half baskets, with the exception of his one minute of rest, the offensive burden was up to O’Bannon. And, facing a Wildcat defense tricked up to stop him, he was up to it.

“Today, I felt it,” said O’Bannon, who was four of five from behind the three-point line and 11 for 18 from the field. “I’m not out there counting points or anything, but if it feels good, I’m shooting it.

“I’m not the type of guy who wants to go out and get 50 points a game. I just want to help the team win, and if my scoring helps, that’s fine.”

Said Dollar: “Ed brings it every game, and he’s a guy down the stretch, if we really need a basket, we give the ball to Ed. He’s just so consistent. He doesn’t fade in and out on you.”

Though O’Bannon’s statistics (19.4 points a game, 8.1 rebounds) are not as glittering as others, UCLA Coach Jim Harrick nominated O’Bannon for consideration for player of the year.

O’Bannon has scored at least 10 points in every game this season, and has saved some of his biggest outings--26 points in the victory over Kentucky, 21 points and 11 rebounds in the first Arizona victory--for UCLA’s most important games.

“Up to this point in the season, I have not seen anybody in America be as consistent as Ed,” Harrick said. “There has not been a game this year when Ed hasn’t been sound and solid.

“I think we’ve been one of the more consistent teams in the country, and I think Ed O’Bannon should get the credit for that.

“If you’re talking national player of the year, then Ed O’Bannon certainly belongs in there.”

Perhaps O’Bannon’s biggest basket came early in the second half, with UCLA in a free fall offensively and Arizona having turned its 40-33 halftime deficit into a 41-40 lead with 16:51 to play.

After Edney was pulled out in favor of Dollar and the Bruins still without a second-half score, O’Bannon lifted a 15-foot baseline jump shot over the Arizona defense to give UCLA back the lead at 16:10, and the Bruins did not trail again.

UCLA got a fine effort from Bailey, who played the entire second half, scored 19 points and used his 6-foot-5 frame to force the 5-10 Stoudamire into awkward shots. Stoudamire scored 27 points, but only nine of those came in the second half--and three came on a wild, desperation 35-foot heave with 14 seconds left.

Harrick, though, did say that he was concerned that Edney has had to play with pain in consecutive games.

Edney said his knee felt much better Sunday than during Thursday night’s 82-77 overtime victory over Arizona State and that he wasn’t worried the tendinitis would hinder him as the Bruins head toward March.

“Tyus is a great player--he’s our best player,” said O’Bannon. “It is a concern. But we’ve been playing well together. Whatever we can do to help him, we’ll do.”

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Pac-10 Standings

UCLA enjoys a two-game lead with five conference games remaining. A look at the standings through Sunday’s games:

Conference

Team W L UCLA 11 2 Arizona 9 4 Arizona State 9 4 Washington State 8 5 Stanford 7 5 Oregon 7 5 California 4 8 Oregon State 3 9 Washington 3 10 USC 2 11

Overall

Team W L UCLA 18 2 Arizona 19 6 Arizona State 19 6 Washington State 13 8 Stanford 16 5 Oregon 15 6 California 12 9 Oregon State 6 15 Washington 7 14 USC 7 16

* AROUND THE NATION

North Carolina squanders a chance to return to the top spot in the polls with a 73-71 loss at Virginia. C8.