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UCLA routs overmatched Oregon State

Feb 22, 2008 - 7:27 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- UCLA took advantage of its superior talent to cruise past the worst team in the Pac-10 Conference.

Russell Westbrook scored 17 points to lead the sixth-ranked Bruins to an 84-49 victory over Oregon State on Thursday night.

Darren Collison added 14 points while freshman Kevin Love contributed 11 and nine rebounds for UCLA (23-3, 11-2 Pac-10), which has won seven straight meetings with the Beavers and hold a one-game lead atop the conference.

UCLA had only four players in double figures but made 55 percent of its shots from the floor and dished out a total of 20 assists.

"I'm glad we came out and played hard," UCLA coach Ben Howland told the Los Angeles Times. "It was a good performance by us in almost all respects. I thought Darren and Russell did an exceptional job of sharing the ball and running the team."

The loss was Oregon State's 16th in a row and was the second consecutive lopsided setback to UCLA this season. The Beavers suffered a 33-point defeat when the teams met for the first time on January 26.

Collison scored a career-high 33 points during that matchup and Love set a freshman school record with 21 rebounds.

UCLA took the lead in this one on Collison's 3-pointer off the opening tip and never looked back.

The Beavers (6-20, 0-14) trailed by four points just under four minutes into the game, when the Bruins went on a 14-3 run to build a 24-9 lead midway through the first half.

UCLA took a 22-point lead into the locker room and opened the second half with a 11-2 surge to record a 60-31 advantage.

Despite the dominating performance, Collison believes the Bruins could have played better.

"We've got to work on staying mentally focused," Collison told the Times. "A couple of times when we were ahead, we lost focus and gave up a couple of easy baskets. If we continue to allow that, it will hurt us."

Josh Tarver scored 10 points to lead the Beavers, who have not won since claiming a 65-56 victory over Northern Colorado on December 19.

Oregon State interim coach Kevin Mouton was very impressed by UCLA's performance.

"I would not be surprised if they make it back to the Final Four," Mouton told the Times. "Their help defense is as good as their 1-on-1 defense. And they have been there before."