Pauley Rooters Make Last Stand

Standing and cheering throughout a basketball game at Pauley Pavilion is no longer considered an act of civil disobedience.

Eli Karon and Jason Gaulton, the UCLA students ejected from the arena for standing in a student section Thursday, brought reinforcements Saturday night.

About 25 students stood in a group throughout the game, wearing T-shirts stenciled with homemade messages such as “Too Legit to Sit,” “Get Up, Stand Up,” and “If It’s Cool to Stand, Consider Me Miles Davis.”

The standing students triggered a domino effect, and fellow students in the five rows behind them stood throughout the game as well.

And during UCLA’s second-half rally, the entire crowd displayed more spirit than in any other game this season.

All of it met with the approval of Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. “That’s what we want,” he said. “We want atmosphere.”

Guerrero said that UCLA is proceeding with plans to make more lower-level seats available to students next season.

Currently there is a single section of about 200 seats filled with students who stand and perform choreographed cheers.

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Thursday vs. Arizona, 1:20 p.m. -- UCLA was no match for the Wildcats in either regular-season meeting, losing, 87-52, at Pauley Pavilion and 106-70 at Tucson. Arizona won the Pacific 10 Conference tournament last year.