Syracuse Can Feel UCLA’s Pain, 93-69

This will have to do for UCLA at full strength, maybe for the rest of the season. Jerome Moiso wincing to the finish. Rico Hines, providing an emotional boost with his return to uniform, playing through pain for a 41-second cameo. Dan Gadzuric bothered more by his knees than any Syracuse defender.

But this will do just fine for the Bruins: a huge second half that led to a 93-69 victory Sunday afternoon before 11,721 at Pauley Pavilion as Moiso and Hines both played and Baron Davis and JaRon Rush both played very well.

Davis, offering the Big East opponent the same stellar show most every Pacific 10 team has had the misfortune of witnessing, made 10 of 15 shots and had 27 points to tie his career high set two games earlier, the only drawback being seven turnovers. Rush contributed a season-high 23 points by going nine for 12 from the field, again relying heavily on his tenacious pursuit of offensive rebounds.

But the most noteworthy aspect for the Bruins in the mini-showdown--they’re ranked 16th, Syracuse 21st--was the return of their big men two weeks before NCAA tournament pairings are announced. And the reminder of what can be if the inside game complements the play of Davis.

Said Rush: “I think Dan’s back. We got Jerome back. We’re going to be all right.”

Gadzuric, of course, never left, at least officially. He played through the tendinitis-inflicted pain in both knees, but failed to score in double digits in four of his last five outings. He had been just as much a non-factor on defense and his rebounding was inconsistent.

So the 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots Sunday, granted against a team that started a 6-foot-9 center, was as significant in many ways for the Bruins as the numbers that Davis posted.

Gadzuric hadn’t scored that much since Jan. 31, he hadn’t pulled down as many rebounds since Jan. 14 and he hadn’t blocked as many shots since Jan. 2.

“I played good,” Gadzuric said after also playing 29 minutes, the most since Jan. 14. “The best? No. I know I can play better. But right now, it’s starting to come back again. I hadn’t been playing all that well before.”

In the first half, Gadzuric had eight points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals, numbers especially needed because a game still existed, something that wouldn’t last much beyond intermission.

Moiso came off the bench and played seven of his 12 minutes in the second half.

The starting power forward when healthy, Moiso had not played since the Feb. 11 Stanford game. The Bruins hoped the 10 days off would help Moiso recover from sore arches in his feet.

The answer that came Sunday was not encouraging.

The right foot held up, but the left didn’t.

“It’s disappointing,” he said, “but I expected it. I have to be ready. There’s no other option.”

Meaning he’s now in it for the long haul, ready or not.

“I think I’m going to have to play through it, yeah,” Moiso said.

The return of their big men, and of Rush’s continued inside impact as five of his nine rebounds came on offense, was a major part of the Bruin success. It came as they shot 59.5% in the second half--en route to a season-best 57.8% overall--to turn the four-point lead at the break into a rout.

Syracuse got 16 points from former Westchester High player Tony Bland and 15 points and three steals from Jason Hart from Inglewood High, but little else for its long journey.

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Against Ranked Teams

UCLA is 4-4 against top 25 teams this season:

Nov. 27--No. 5 Maryland 70, No. 10 UCLA 54

Nov. 28--No. 4 Kentucky 66, No. 10 UCLA 62

Dec. 5--No. 18 UCLA 69, No. 11 Okla. St. 66

Jan. 2--No. 10 UCLA 82, No. 6 Arizona 75

Jan. 16--No. 4 Stanford 72, No. 10 UCLA 59

Jan. 23--No. 13 UCLA 82, No. 24 Louisville 70

Feb. 11--No. 6 Stanford 85, No. 9 UCLA 67

Feb. 21--No. 16 UCLA 93, No. 21 Syracuse 69