The final tab for dinner for 13, including tip, came to $1,085.10.

Earl Watson had a cheeseburger.

Jim Harrick got a pink slip.

Stanford coach Mike Montgomery, who wasn't invited, wound up with two prep All-America recruits.

"I still blame the Collins twins for what happened," Watson said, playfully feigning anger. "It was a plot they masterminded."

It was the most costly recruiting dinner in UCLA history. More than five years later, the school's athletic department still is paying the price.

Another installment could come due Saturday, when the 12th-ranked Bruins play host to twins Jarron and Jason Collins and No. 1 Stanford in a game that could have a big say in determining the Pacific-10 Conference race.

"Oh, the last supper," UCLA coach Steve Lavin said, when recently asked for his recollections of that eventful -- and fateful -- dinner.

Lavin paused and took a deep breath, as if trying to digest everything that had happened.

The date was Oct. 11, 1996.

The place was Monty's, a steak house in Westwood.

The guest list included Harrick; UCLA assistants Lavin, Michael Holton and Jim Saia; player hosts Jelani McCoy, Kris Johnson, Bob Myers, Cameron Dollar and Charles O'Bannon; and Lavin's girlfriend, Treena Camacho.

The mission was to woo Jarron and Jason Collins, prized recruits from North Hollywood who were believed to be leaning toward accepting scholarship offers from UCLA.

Harrick was UCLA's head coach. Lavin was his top assistant. And the Bruins, who entered the 1996 NCAA Tournament as defending national champs and exited via the backdoor after an embarrassing first-round loss to Princeton, appeared poised to regroup and reload.

Baron Davis, one of the nation's top recruits, was telling everyone he wanted to be a Bruin. Watson had given UCLA a verbal commitment.

Watson and the Collins twins were the guests of honor at the Oct. 11 dinner. All three were making their official recruiting visit to UCLA. And Harrick was encouraging the three mild-mannered young men to live it up.

Some guests took Harrick up on his offer.

Some players were unable to decide on an appetizer, so they ordered two or three.

At least five young men ordered lobster ($65 market price) and a porterhouse steak for two ($55). Side orders were extra.

Shirley Temples flowed all night. Some teen-agers consumed at least a half-dozen of the sweet, pink-tinted drink.

Then came the dessert cart.

The final tab was stout. In an attempt to justify what was the most expensive recruiting dinner in the history of the department, Harrick fudged on his expense account, adding a couple of names to the guest list.

He lied to administrators when questioned about the dinner, and wound up getting fired in November for that ethical breach and NCAA rules violations.

Lavin took over as interim head coach and later was given the permanent job.

Watson and Davis stuck with their plan and attended UCLA.

After being linked to the controversy, the Collins twins elected to enroll at Stanford.

While Brevin Knight widely is regarded as the key player in Montgomery's quest to build Stanford into a basketball power, the influence of the Collins twins cannot be understated.

They arrived as Stanford's most celebrated basketball recruits and have contributed to the success of a program that sits atop the Pac-10 standings heading into tonight's game against USC at the Sports Arena.

Imagine how differently things would have turned out if the Collins twins had followed Davis and Watson to UCLA.

Or if they had followed Watson's lead that night and ordered the cheeseburger, thereby reducing the amount of the check and eliminating the need for UCLA's internal audit.

"I'm from Kansas City," Watson said. "I didn't want lobster. I was happy with a cheeseburger.

"Both the Collins twins are 7 feet tall, so I guess they are going to gulp down more food than me . . .

"They're still my friends, but what happened was their fault. I tell them that every time I see them."

Staff writer Lisa Nehus Saxon can be contacted by e-mail at lsaxon@pe.com or by phone at (909) 782-7595.