30 = 20 FOR UCLA BEHIND DEFENSIVE EFFORT, BRUINS GET TO 20-WIN MARK UCLA 50, WASH. ST. 30.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

PULLMAN, Wash. - Although a scant few thousand watched Wilt Chamberlain score 100 points one night in Hershey, Pa., tens of thousands now claim to have been there.

In a few more years, hundreds of thousands might claim to have witnessed Kobe Bryant's 81 points at Staples Center earlier this season.

The lies may go the other way when reliving Thursday's clink-fest at Friel Court, where Washington State brought basketball back to a time before 3-pointers, before the shot clock, and nearly before a hole was cut in the bottom of a peach basket.

Crumbling under UCLA's defense, the Cougars managed two points in the first nine minutes, 12 in the first half, and were embarrassed by the 13th-ranked Bruins 50-30 in front of 4,097.

``That was just a great defensive effort by our team,'' Bruins guard Arron Afflalo said. ``That's an amazing feat in my mind. We didn't let them get a lot of shots off, so I think I have to give us a lot of credit. Our defensive intensity was very high.''

UCLA is the Pac-10's best defensive team, but the Cougars (10-10, 3-8) went a long way in helping the Bruins. Washington State missed its first five shots, went 1 for its first 8 with two air balls, and had trouble getting any kind of decent shot as UCLA scored the first 14 points and built an 18-2 lead seven minutes in.

Washington State shot 27.5 percent from the field. It was the fewest points UCLA allowed since winning at Oregon 34-25 on Feb. 17, 1967, and quite the contrast to the Bruins' nail-biting 63-61 win in Los Angeles last month.

``Being up 18-2, our defense was unbelievable,'' Bruins coach Ben Howland said. ``We're better than we were last time we played.''

In remaining atop the Pacific-10, UCLA (20-4, 10-2) reached the 20-win mark quicker than any season since the 1994-95 national championship team. It is the 40th time in school history, and 34th time in 40 years, the Bruins won 20 games.

``They virtually won the game in the first 10 minutes, and there was nothing that we could do to cut into that margin,'' Cougars coach Dick Bennett said. ``They basically took our heart early. ... This was a game we were just dominated by a vastly superior group of players and coach.

``It reminds me of the Michigan State teams I used to play against in the Big Ten, when they had their national champion. Just no let up, and just play with the same level of intensity from start to finish.''

Not all the accolades should go UCLA's way, though.

Even when the Cougars got the ball inside, they missed lay-ups, 4-footers, or turned the ball over, then were uncharacteristically beaten in transition as UCLA scored easy baskets and got open shots.

However, Washington State's offensive ineptitude isn't an anomaly under Bennett. Twice in his three-year tenure, his teams scored 29 points, including an 81-29 loss to Oklahoma State on Dec. 4, 2004.

But how bad and uninspired were the Cougars, losers of seven of eight, against the Bruins? They didn't attempt a free throw until 11:58 remained.

``That kind of shows the type of game we played,'' said Cougars forward Robbie Cowgill, who was 1 of 11 from the field. ``We shied away from them.''

The Cougars never got closer than 10 points after UCLA's game-starting burst, and had no answer for UCLA point guard Jordan Farmar.

Farmar, who played with a heavily taped sprained left ankle, scored a game-high 20 points, but didn't have an assist.

``I knew I was going to play,'' Farmar said. ``I knew how I felt, and the way my rehab was going, it was getting stronger and feeling good. I knew I'd be ready to play.''

Afflalo chipped in 12 points for UCLA.

Aron Baynes led Washington State with 10 points, and no one else had more than four.

Brian Dohn, [phone]

brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 7 boxes

Photo:

(1) Jordan Farmar, right, drives past Washington State's Antonio Chavers in the second half of Thursday's game. Farmar shook off a left ankle sprain to score 20 points.

(2) UCLA's Darren Collison gets a shot over the arm of Washington State's Aron Baynes in Thursday's game. The Bruins stayed atop the Pac-10 with their win.

Joe Barrentine/Associated Press

Box:

(1) PAC-10 STANDINGS

(2) BIG WEST STANDINGS

(3) PAC-10: ARIZONA ENDS LOSING STREAK

(4) BIG WEST: GAUCHOS STUN ANTEATERS

(5) MEN'S TOP 25: PITTSBURGH WINS BRAWL

(6) WOMEN'S TOP 25: HEELS UNDEFEATED NO MORE

(7) LOCAL WOMEN: WILLIS KEEPS BRUINS HOT

(3) STORY LINES