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UCLA takes command early, routs Oregon State

Feb 4, 2007 - 2:20 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- On paper, it was a mismatch. On the court, UCLA made it even worse.

Arron Afflalo scored 16 points and the fifth-ranked Bruins rolled to a 30-point halftime lead en route to an 82-35 thrashing of Oregon State in the Pac-10 Conference.

UCLA (20-2, 9-2 Pac-10) won its 17 straight home game and posted its most lopsided margin of victory for the season.

"I was very happy with our effort," Bruins coach Ben Howland said. "We had great intensity in both halves. I love this kind of basketball with all the unselfishness, making the extra pass, you could just see the extra effort."

Not that a rout was unexpected. Oregon State (9-15, 1-10) limped into the contest on a five-game losing streak and was beaten handily by Southern California, 73-56, on Thursday in the opening of their two-game road swing to Los Angeles.

The Bruins took command immediately, racing out to a 20-5 lead eight minutes in and breezing to a 48-18 advantage at halftime behind 11 points from Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.

"It all starts and ends with defense," Howland said.

Afflalo took over at the start of the second half, scoring nine points in a 13-2 run that pushed the bulge over 40 points, 61-20, on his 3-pointer with 14:57 to play.

That gave UCLA a chance to empty its bench. Fourteen players saw action and 11 scored as the Bruins won for the sixth time in seven games.

"We just wanted to come out with some intensity," Bruins guard Darren Collison said. "We have to have games like this if we want to get where we want to go. This team has so much talent, it's exciting when everything is clicking."

Mbah a Moute added 14 points and freshman Russell Westbrook 11 for UCLA, which shot 58 percent (34-of-59) and hit 7-of-15 3-pointers.

Avoiding a letdown may have been the biggest accomplishment for the Bruins, who avenged a loss to Oregon on Thursday and will face city rival USC on Wednesday.

"I think it shows a maturity level," Howland said. "We want to play hard every game no matter who we play. When we are energized, we are a hard team to beat."

Marcel Jones was the only player in double figures for the Beavers with 16 points.