No. 1 Bruins blitz Huskies
LOS ANGELES – UCLA took it to No. 14 Washington from the tip and when the Huskies dared hint at a comeback, the top-ranked Bruins thrashed them.
Arron Afflalo equaled his career high with 27 points and tied a season high with five 3-pointers in the 96-74 victory Sunday.
“I’d love to do this again, maybe in the (NCAA) tournament,” he said.
UCLA shot a sizzling 72 percent in the second half, when its 12-0 run sucked the life out of the Huskies, whose 22 turnovers led to 34 points for the Bruins.
“When you’re going up against the No. 1 team in the country, you have to be the one that throws the first punch, and we didn’t do that,” Washington freshman center Spencer Hawes said.
UCLA dictated an aggressive tone from the start, which launched a dominating 16-6 spurt that thrilled the season’s largest crowd of 12,042 at Pauley Pavilion.
“We knew how explosive of a team they were and their ability to really jump on you,” said Hawes, who fought through double-teams most of the game. “You can’t really practice against that.”
The Bruins (13-0, 2-0) concluded a sweep of their opening Pac-10 games after surviving a three-point scare against Washington State on Thursday.
UCLA coach Ben Howland’s first priority is defense, and the Bruins played that, too, in between their offensive fireworks.
“Arron Afflalo played the best game of his career,” Howland said. “We really answered the bell. That was a very good team we beat.”
Darren Collison added 15 points and a career-high 12 assists for UCLA.
Michael Roll added 15 points and Josh Shipp 13 for UCLA.
The Huskies (10-3, 0-2) have yet to win in three road games this season. They fell to 0-11 against top-ranked teams on the road, and 2-27 all-time against a No. 1 team.
“They basically picked us apart and there was not a whole lot we could do,” said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, an assistant on UCLA’s 1995 national championship team. “They beat us in every way you could.”
UCLA had a season-high 29 assists, with Afflalo contributing eight.
The Bruins opened the game with eight straight points, starting with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scoring over Hawes, then dunking off his own steal. Afflalo scored, then stole the ball and fed Shipp for a fastbreak layup.
Washington was led by 21 points from Hawes, the 7-foot center who recently ended the double-digit scoring streak of LSU’s Glen Davis at 48 games. Jon Brockman added 13 points.
After UCLA’s opening rush, the teams traded baskets before Washington scored six straight to close within four. But the Bruins pushed their lead to 47-33 at halftime with part of a 15-0 run that extended over both halves, with Hawes picking up a third foul early in the second.
Trailing by 20 points, Washington went to a zone that stymied the Bruins for a time. The Huskies used a 16-5 run to get to 66-55, with Ryan Appleby hitting consecutive 3-pointers and Brockman adding four points.
“We were getting right back in the game, but they stopped that,” Hawes said.
UCLA suddenly recovered, running off 12 straight points for a 78-55 lead with eight minutes left. Roll had consecutive 3-pointers and another basket for eight points.
With road games at Oregon and Oregon State this week, UCLA faces its first major road trip since winning the Maui Invitational on Nov. 22.
Washington will play at home this week against Arizona on Thursday and Arizona State on Saturday.
UCLA 96, Washington 74
Washington (10-3, 0-2)—Pondexter 5-7 0-0 11, Brockman 5-8 3-4 13, Hawes 6-12 9-10 21, Oliver 1-2 0-0 2, Dentmon 2-8 1-3 6, Burmeister 1-2 0-0 3, Appleby 3-6 0-0 8, Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Gasser 0-0 0-0 0, Nelson 5-10 0-0 10. Totals 28-55 13-17 74.
UCLA (13-0, 2-0)—Shipp 5-10 2-2 13, Mbah a Moute 4-6 0-1 8, Mata 4-6 0-0 8, Collison 6-11 0-0 15, Afflalo 11-15 0-0 27, Westbrook 1-3 0-0 2, Abdul-Hamid 0-0 0-0 0, Wright 2-3 0-0 4, Aboya 0-1 2-2 2, Keefe 1-1 0-0 2, Roll 6-11 0-0 15, Dragovic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-67 4-5 96.
Halftime—UCLA 47, Washington 33. 3-point goals—Washington 5-15 (Appleby 2-5, Burmeister 1-1, Pondexter 1-1, Dentmon 1-3, Nelson 0-5), UCLA 12-25 (Afflalo 5-8, Collison 3-6, Roll 3-6, Shipp 1-4, Westbrook 0-1). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Washington 31 (Brockman 10), UCLA 28 (Mbah a Moute 6). Assists—Washington 14 (Dentmon 4), UCLA 29 (Collison 12). Total fouls—Washington 12, UCLA 15. A—12,042.