Walton Helps Cure the Bears’ Pauley Woes : College basketball: California senior, former Saddleback High School standout and county player of the year, scored to help clinch streak-ending victory at UCLA.

LOS ANGELES — Bryant Walton hadn’t had so much fun since he was playing basketball at Saddleback High School.

On Thursday, Walton helped California beat UCLA, the Golden Bears’ first victory over the Bruins in Pauley Pavilion, which opened in 1966. Although he scored only seven points, it was Walton’s layup with 48 seconds left that helped clinch a 79-71 victory.

It was the first time the Bears had won a road game against the Bruins since Feb. 20, 1960, eight years before Walton was born.

Afterward, Walton grinned and shouted and extended his index finger, declaring the Bears No. 1.

“We wanted to be the California team that broke the streak,” Walton said. “We’ve talked about this all season. I’ll never forget this night. When I look back on my college career, this will be the thing I’ll remember most.”

As memories go for Walton, there hasn’t been much to compete with the UCLA victory. There have been some good times, but through most of his collegiate career, Walton has searched for consistency.

Now a senior, Walton has found some of the magic that made him the Orange County player of the year in 1986. Not much, maybe, but enough to earn a spot in the starting lineup for the Bears, who play USC at 3 p.m. today in the Sports Arena.

“Things haven’t gone exactly how I planned,” Walton said. “When I came out of high school, I had these big ideas about playing professionally. I know I’ll never accomplish my basketball goals. That’s fine. I’m happy.”

Happy is about all Walton can ask for after two years of frustration.

As a high school senior in 1986, Walton was among the county leaders in scoring, rebounding, assists and field-goal percentage. He was named player of the year over Mater Dei’s LeRon Ellis (Syracuse) and Brea-Olinda’s Kevin Walker (UCLA).

Walton selected California because he liked the campus and its academic reputation. Of course, the fact that the Bears would lose their entire backcourt after his freshman season didn’t hurt, either.

California Coach Lou Campanelli made Walton his recruiting priority during the spring and summer of 1986.

“We were really impressed with Bryant’s shooting ability,” Campanelli said. “He had enough nerve to take big shots and enough ability to make them.”

Walton didn’t disappoint. He averaged 6.2 points per game in 1986-87 and was named to the Pacific 10 Conference’s all-freshman team.

Against Missouri, Walton hit two three-point field goals in the final three minutes as the Bears came from nine points down to win, 64-63. Against Washington State, Walton made a three-pointer at the buzzer to give California a 68-66 victory.

“I started thinking that maybe I could play on the next level,” Walton said. “I didn’t think there was anything or anyone who could stop me.”

Walton’s euphoria began to disappear after the opening game of the 1987-88 season. He made only five of 19 shots against Creighton, the first sign of a shooting slump that would last two years.

His shots, which barely grazed the net in high school, began to bounce off rims, or worse. The chant of “air ball” was well-known to Walton.

Walton averaged 8.1 points per game as a sophomore, but shot only 37% from the field. He averaged only 3.4 points per game and shot 38% as a junior.

“I was always certain my next shot would fall,” Walton said. “My entire game revolves around shooting. When the shots wouldn’t fall, my confidence went south.”

It was assistant Coach Gary Colson who got Walton pointed in the right direction. Colson, former head coach at New Mexico and Pepperdine, made Walton a personal project.

During the summer, Colson showed up at the gym to watch Walton play in pick-up games. He gave Walton some advice, but mostly provided encouragement.

“I kept telling Bryant that shooting was all rhythm,” Colson said. “You have to keep shooting to develop it. Bryant had become hesitant. He was passing up shots he should be taking.”

This season has been one of decline followed by a rapid ascent for Walton. He was used off the bench in Cal’s first 13 games, but his playing time steadily decreased.

On Jan. 17 against Oregon State, Walton hit bottom. He hadn’t scored in the two previous games and didn’t even get to play against the Beavers.

“I didn’t expect to start this year, but I thought I would get more playing time,” Walton said. “I had worked really hard over the summer. I wanted to go out with a bang. I felt that the coaches had given up on me.”

Then came the Washington State game. Walton didn’t expect to play, but scored 12 points off the bench. He had three three-point field goals to help the Bears to a 72-67 victory.

The next game against Washington, Walton was in the starting lineup and has been there ever since. The Bears have won seven of those nine games.

“I’ve had to get used to starting again,” he said. “It was strange. I was actually getting butterflies in my stomach before every game. I have never been nervous before a game, even in high school.”

Walton has played well in the nine games. Nothing spectacular, but he has been steady.

In an earlier game against UCLA, Walton scored 14 points. He scored 12 against Oregon State two games later.

Walton has averaged nearly five rebounds and three assists since the Washington State game.

Against UCLA, he had eight rebounds and seven assists, not to mention a whole lot of fun. With 6 minutes 40 seconds left, Walton grabbed a rebound, dribbled to midcourt and flipped a no-look pass to Bill Elleby for a layup.

It brought a smile to Walton’s face.

“You know, back in high school, basketball was fun,” he said. “I’m the type of player that needs to have fun on the court. Well, basketball is fun again.”