BRUINS' SWEET REVENGE\Cal falls to scoring onslaught\UCLA 93, CAL 73.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

Toby Bailey's 3-pointer sliced through the net and the lead expanded to 16 and, really, the game was over. Bailey and Charles O'Bannon turned to the student cheering section and waved their arms.

"Come on, y'all," O'Bannon implored.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Bailey yelled. Then he hugged Jelani McCoy. He chest-bumped Kris Johnson. He slapped hands with O'Bannon. "I hit that one," he said, "and it was like, 'Yes! Finally!' "

For a few, it has been only weeks. For some, months. For others, years. But to a man, the UCLA Bruins were tired of hearing about Cal.

Cal, Cal, Cal - and its three-game winning streak in Pauley Pavilion.

"I was so embarrassed last year when they came in here and beat us bad," Bailey said. "Most of them are from the L.A. area and that gave them bragging rights for the rest of the summer. We won the national championship and that quieted (the talk) a bit. But until we played them again, I didn't want to show my face around my old friends."

It's now safe for Bailey to show his face, what with the Bruins' 93-73 victory Saturday afternoon before 12,881 at Pauley.

"They came in here with a three-game winning streak and we came in here to stop it," freshman Jelani McCoy said.

UCLA's on-court celebration was brief and the teams and coaches exchanged handshakes without incident. (In this rivalry, you never know.) And by all accounts, the Bruins' locker room was tame, as well.

"Coach just said, 'Be ready for practice on Monday,' " Kevin Dempsey said.

The palpable effects of this victory are few. Yes, it gave the Bruins (11-3) their ninth straight win and put them in sole possession of first place in the conference, at 4-0. But with 14 games remaining, that means little.

"It's too early to be concerned about the race," UCLA coach Jim Harrick said. "We were (11-1 in league play) two years ago and got killed."

But the psychological impact of this victory is significant. At the Bruins' talent level, there are few opportunities for confidence-building victories. Kansas was one. Maryland was one. Cal, of course. Arizona, later this week, is another.

And remember, the loss to Cal last year in Pauley had an impact: It spurred the Bruins to 19 straight wins and a national title.

There were myriad heroes on Saturday. Kris Johnson scored a career-high 36 points against the same team that his father, Marques, attained his career high (37, in 1977).

J.R. Henderson played solid defense on Cal's sensational freshman, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who made just two field goals in the second half.

But the whys are as important as the whos and the Bruins accomplished everything on their checklist:

Compete for 40 minutes.

This was the coaching staff's major point of emphasis before the game - and with good reason. In each of the Bears' three victories here, they jumped to double-digit first-half leads.

But Saturday, it was the Bruins who started fast, taking a six-point lead midway through the first half and increasing it to 13 by the buzzer.

"We played this one from the start, just like they usually do," Dempsey said.

Control the rebounding. Another area the Bears dominated in recent meetings, signifying superior aggressiveness.

But Saturday the Bruins had their way underneath, with a 43-29 advantage.

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(1--color) Kris Johnson lets his emotions show after his career-best performance against Cal at Pauley Pavilion. (2--color) UCLA's Jelani McCoy is pumped after a follow-up dunk against the Bears. Myung J. Chun / Daily News