Rush Breaks Out of Slump With 15 Points

JaRon Rush was in mid-explanation Wednesday night about how much Matt Barnes had been riding him during his ongoing shooting slump, right in the middle of noting how quick Barnes was to regularly point out the latest numbers on the struggle.

Just then, Rush stopped.

“Hey, Matt!” he shouted across the visitors’ locker room at the Sports Arena after UCLA’s 98-80 victory over USC. “What’s my shooting percentage?”

“Fifteen!” Barnes replied, refusing to withdraw the needle.

Rush sent back immediate word to his fellow Bruin freshman: “It’s up to 18!”

It’s up to 35.9%, actually, after Rush broke out of the slump that had lasted through most of Pacific 10 Conference play, making six of 12 shots and scoring 15 points.

He had made only 28.6%--16 of 56--in the previous six appearances. That included 13.6%--three of 22--on three-point shots.

In five conference outings, Rush was 16 of 52 (30.8%) overall and three of 21 (14.3%) from behind the arc.

What came Wednesday was the first sign of offensive life since Jan. 4 against Arizona State at Pauley Pavilion. In the interim, he had been regaining or holding a spot in the starting lineup with his rebounding (12 in consecutive games at Oregon State and Oregon) or defense (five steals one time, three another).

“I’m sure it was less about his frustration and more his confidence,” Coach Steve Lavin said. “I think it affected his confidence. But to his credit, he did other things to help us win. He played defense and he got a lot of rebounds.”

Said Rush, who made three of five three-point shots against USC: “It’s been really tough. Players have been making fun of me. Matt Barnes always had to tell me what my shooting percentage was.

“I knew we had Louisville, Washington State and Washington coming up, three tough games on the road. I knew I had to get going and get my confidence up. That’s what I did tonight.”

A new concern for UCLA, in place of shooting problems, was the status of center Dan Gadzuric, who left the game with 5:56 remaining because of a sprained right ankle.

The preliminary indication was that the injury was not too serious. But the Bruins want to wait before deciding on his status for Saturday’s game at Louisville.