Bruins remain undefeated after smashing Huskies

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- UCLA took it to Washington (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today; No. 14 AP) 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, which faces its first major road trip next week to Oregon

since winning the Maui Invitational on Nov. 22.

Michael Roll added 15 points and Josh Shipp 13 for the Bruins.

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 chipping in

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 failed to get off a shot in the spurt.

The theatrics continued when Collison stole an inbounds pass

from Justin Dentmon and dunked on a fastbreak. Then Afflalo hit

consecutive 3-pointers to send the crowd into a frenzy.

"It was great," Collison said. "It's going to be hard to beat

us if we have that kind of intensity."

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 his 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.

"It's our best game by far, but we can definitely improve,"

Collison said.