1ST-ROUND TURNAROUND : THIS TIME, UCLA IN ROUT INSTEAD OF POUT UCLA 109 CHAR. SO. 75.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

This time last year, UCLA guard Toby Bailey was hunched over at midcourt, a few feet from Princeton's celebration.

Thursday night, Bailey ended UCLA's first-round NCAA Tournament game on the bench and full of smiles, as the Bruins' seldom-used reserves finalized a 109-75 victory over Charleston Southern, before 21,020 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

After months of saying it, the Bruins proved in two devastating hours that they are nothing like the cocky, tempestuous bunch that crumbled against Princeton. If anything, their performance Thursday resembled the 1995 team's first-round rout of Florida International.

Bailey led five players in double figures. But the win was especially sweet for point guard Cameron Dollar, who responded to Charleston Southern claims that he could not shoot with 15 points. Dollar also directed a fast break that overwhelmed the Buccaneers and sparked a harassing UCLA defense that reached a level not seen since the Feb. 23 victory over Duke.

Charleston Southern had no answer for UCLA center Jelani McCoy, who rebounded, blocked and dunked his way to the most dominating performance of his career (21 points).

The margin would have been much greater except for a fearless effort by Buccaneers guard Brett Larrick, who scored 32 points.

UCLA will play No. 7-seed Xavier on Saturday at approximately 4:10 p.m.

More than anything, though, this game was about the Bruins' state of mind. As game day approached, observers wondered if they would play with the requisite intensity and efficiency needed to avoid another opening-round embarrassment.

Ironically, the overmatched Buccaneers played the part of cocky trash talkers. On selection Sunday, forward Rolando Hourruitiner told a local NBC affiliate he was expecting a tougher opponent than UCLA.

The Bruins' video crew learned of the comments and tracked down a copy from NBC. It was incorporated into one of several motivational videos coach Steve Lavin showed his players this week.

The Bruins' public demeanor here oozed cool confidence. They were well-versed in Charleston Southern's accomplishments and said nothing disparaging about their opponent. Unlike previous years, they concentrated on the task at hand - not potential second-round and Sweet 16 matchups.

``Our (senior) class is 1-2 in first-round games, so we're taking this game seriously,'' Bob Myers said. ``In the past, we might have been accused of looking past Tulsa or looking past Princeton. This team is focusing on winning its first game.''

But everyone else seemed focused on last year. The Bruins fielded a bewildering array of questions about the Princeton loss, what they learned from it, if history could repeat.

``I hadn't thought about Princeton, but I guess I should have brought my cheat-sheet notes,'' Lavin quipped Wednesday. ``I don't intend to dwell on Princeton as a motivational source.''

His motivational tapes and Hourruitiner's comments provided plenty of fuel. From the opening tip it was clear the Bruins had left their sluggish performances of the Oregon and Washington weekends behind. With McCoy scoring six quick points, they blew to an 11-0 lead and forced the Buccaneers to call a timeout with 16:45 left.

Charleston Southern regained its composure, switched to a zone and rallied to a 19-14 deficit as Larrick fired from 3-point range.

But Charles O'Bannon answered each Buccaneer spurt - draining a 3-pointer from the left corner one minute, stuffing an alley-oop pass the next, and dropping in a baseline jumper that chased Charleston Southern from its zone.

In Larrick and Hourruitiner the Buccaneers had capable scorers, but they could not stop UCLA's attack. McCoy grabbed every rebound near him and dunked them home. J.R. Henderson carved position underneath, giving the Buccaneers no choice but to foul him. Bailey fired away from the perimeter and O'Bannon's swooping jumper was unguardable.

From 19-14, the Bruins dashed to a 30-18 lead and never looked back. They finished the first half with 53 points, shot 62.9 percent and held a 26-18 rebounding advantage.

The second half was more of the same. Larrick, who resembles Rex Chapman in his athleticism and gunslinger mentality, hit two 3-pointers and a free throw that narrowed UCLA's lead to 60-48. The Buccaneers then called timeout to milk the momentum and inspire their fans.

But it was their last stand. The Bruins scored on six consecutive possessions, including back-to-back jumpers by Dollar, and surged to a 73-50 lead with 14 minutes left.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) UCLA's Jelani McCoy, left, and J.R. Henderson trap Charleston Southern's Adam Larrick in the first half at Auburn Hills, Mich.

(2) UCLA's Jelani McCoy, who was dominating in the rout and scored 21 points, dunks with gusto against outmanned Charleston Southern.

Associated Press