University of Washington
UCLA
Huskies Drop Close One To UCLA, 85-79
December 20, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2001
By JIM COUR
AP Sports Writer
SEATTLE - Dan Gadzuric scored a career-high 23 points and had 13 rebounds as No. 19 UCLA ended a four-game losing streak to Washington in Seattle with a 85-79 victory Thursday night in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.
Jason Kapono scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half for UCLA, which trailed by nine points late in the first half and was down 37-30 at halftime.
Washington's Doug Wrenn, a transfer from Connecticut, led the Huskies (6-4) with 23 points, his career high.
The Bruins (6-2) pretty much had their way inside in the second half, fouling out Washington starting center David Dixon and 6-foot-9 freshman Jeffrey Day. Day fouled out with 13:43 left with the Bruins ahead 49-47. Dixon left with 6:36 to go and UCLA in front 67-59.
After two free throws by Billy Knight gave the Bruins a 77-66 lead, the Huskies got 3-pointers from Grant Leap and Josh Barnard to cut their deficit to six at 79-73 with 1:35 on the clock. But they couldn't get any closer.
UCLA took the lead for good at 49-47 on a 10-footer by Kapono with 5:34 gone in the second half. The Bruins made eight of their first 11 shots after halftime.
Washington led at halftime after scoring eight unanswered points, before Dijon Thompson of UCLA made a basket from just inside 3-point range as time expired in the first half.
In the final 3{ minutes, Wrenn started the Huskies' 8-0 run when he took a pass from Curtis Allen and made a dunk, Allen followed with a 5-foot bank shot, Wrenn grabbed an offensive rebound and made a tip-in and Allen had a layup after a steal.
Wrenn, Washington's leading scorer with a 16.6 average in nonconference play, didn't start the game because of team rules violation. Wrenn, late for a stretching session before the Huskies' game against Gonzaga on Dec. 11, He entered the game with 5:25 gone and started the second half.
UCLA was picked to win the Pac-10 and Washington to finish last in a preseason media poll. The Huskies have won a total of only nine Pac-10 games the past two seasons when they lost 20 games each season.
