It <i> Is </i> a Laughing Matter as UCLA Stuns Arizona : College basketball: Ed O’Bannon, Edney and freshman Bailey spark key road victory, 71-61.

TUCSON — It ended in near-silence Thursday, with seniors Ed O’Bannon and Tyus Edney sharing a wordless handshake and a dose of the giggles.

Somewhere near, freshman Toby Bailey saw them, and laughed a little too.

After UCLA’s 71-61 victory before 14,257 at McKale Center, what else was there left for the Bruins to do but laugh at what they accomplished on the first leg of this season-shaping trip?

“It’s a great victory,” said Bailey, who came off the bench to lead everybody with 12 rebounds. “You can tell by how happy the seniors were.”

Happy, heartened and relieved--especially after absorbing 24- and 19-point drubbings in their last two trips to McKale.

“I’ve never heard it that quiet,” Ed O’Bannon said.

But Thursday night, against an Arizona team that had lost only twice in its 66 previous conference home games, and only three times in 115 games overall since the beginning of the 1987-88 season, UCLA’s defense dominated the game.

The Bruins, hustling from the outset, held the Wildcats to 35.4% shooting. With Edney hounding him most of the way, Pacific 10 Conference scoring leader Damon Stoudamire scored only 15 points on six-of-21 shooting (one of 12 on three-pointers).

With the 6-foot-5 Bailey’s emergence as an inside force, No. 4 UCLA kept No. 11 Arizona off the offensive glass during the key moments of the game.

“Some days it just feels like the ball comes to you,” Bailey said. “The balls kept coming into my area.”

It was the Wildcats’ worst home conference loss of the Lute Olson era. The only time an Olson-coached team has lost at home by more was in his first year, 1983-84, when Arizona lost to Tennessee, 61-49.

The last time UCLA won at McKale, the Don MacLean, Tracy Murray, Gerald Madkins-led team beat the Wildcats by two, in 1991-92 season. That was, coincidentally or not, the last time UCLA won the Pac-10 title.

“I’ve been in here when Don and Tracy and Gerald and Darrick Martin came in here and won,” Ed O’Bannon said, “and I wanted that feeling for myself, because this is my last year. I wanted to at least compete.”

For the Bruins, this victory, coming off their bumpy trip to Oregon two weeks ago, was rife with resonance.

“This kind of sends a message that we’re a good team and we’re ready to play,” sophomore forward Charles O’Bannon said. “People were probably saying we’re not that good on the road, that we always start off undefeated and then go downhill.

“It’s not going to happen this year. We’re a different team from last year.”

The victory lifted UCLA’s record to 10-1, 4-1 in the conference. Arizona fell to 12-4, 2-2.

UCLA came into the game knowing that the past two Arizona blowouts were triggered by big runs early, which brought the McKale crowd into the contest and kept the Bruins playing catch-up the rest of the way.

That did not happen Thursday. Edney, perhaps motivated by the general feeling that Stoudamire is the best guard in the conference, scored the first two baskets of the game and, even though Arizona rallied to take a lead well into the first half, UCLA never looked nervous.

Stoudamire, who scored 45 points in his last game, an overtime victory at Stanford, helped the Bruin cause by missing several open jumpers early, then seemed to lose his confidence.

Olson said of Stoudamire, “He was pressing, there was no question about that.”

After Arizona took a 25-21 lead with 4:46 remaining in the half, UCLA went on a 14-1 run to close the half--forcing six Wildcat turnovers during the spree.

Bailey had seven rebounds in the first half and was rewarded for his play by starting the second half ahead of fellow freshman J.R. Henderson, who looked skittish and did not score in 12 minutes.

Ed O’Bannon led UCLA with 21 points and had 11 rebounds. Edney had 19 points, a season-high nine rebounds and five assists.

So, with another pivotal game at Arizona State coming up Saturday, does this victory put UCLA in the driver’s seat for the Pac-10 title?

“We were first in the league first half last year,” Harrick said, “then laid a big egg.”

* USC LOSES

Arizona State’s defense is the key to a 20-point halftime lead and the 13th-ranked Sun Devils cruise to an 81-71 victory. C6