Bench Is Benched for Second Half

For the second straight game, Coach Steve Lavin shortened up his bench considerably, basically going with the same five-man lineup for the entire second half Saturday in the Bruins’ tight victory over Saint Louis.

Lavin made only one substitution in the second half--replacing Kris Johnson with Travis Reed for a four-minute stint before getting Johnson back in for good.

Toby Bailey and Baron Davis each played all 40 minutes, J.R. Henderson played 37 and Earl Watson 38. Johnson, in his first start of the season, played 26.

“It’ll be game to game, depending on the circumstances and matchups,” Lavin said of his lineup choices. “I’d like to get the freshmen as much playing time as possible.”

Freshman Billy Knight played five minutes in the first half, junior Brandon Loyd played three, and Reed played a total of 11 minutes.

UCLA is taking today off, and plays Boise State on Monday night--its third game in five days--but the busiest Bruin players said they could recuperate in time.

“All we need is one day to rest,” Henderson said. “We’re still young.”