BRUINS SWEEPING IN SEATTLE\UCLA 78, WASHINGTON 70.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

His linescore would be an embarrassment, if it hadn't been classic Toby Bailey. He had one assist. He had 12 turnovers.

"Indecisive," he explained.

Except in the final minute - when he once again made the play of the game, hitting two crucial free throws that become the winning points in UCLA's 78-70 victory over Washington, before 7,900 in Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Bailey was mistake-prone at Washington State on Thursday night, as well, but when the Bruins needed the clutch baskets to rally from a nine-point deficit and send the game into overtime, he provided them. (They eventually won, 78-73.)

"This team, we might be young, but we have a lot of big-game experience," Bailey said. "We have a lot of clutch players."

Against Washington, the Bruins committed 24 turnovers and, at times, looked as discombobulated as they have at any time this season. But in the final minute, led by Bailey, they scored eight points and forced Washington into the critical turnover and - well, some games you win. Some you survive.

This was survival.

"We wanted to keep it tight until the end," J.R. Henderson said. "We felt if we could keep it close until the final minute, we could pull it out."

"The execution in the last two minutes was the difference," Huskies coach Bob Bender said of an errant dribble and an overthrown alley-oop pass that ended the Huskies' most important possessions.

This victory, UCLA's seventh straight, must be measured on a relative basis. Road wins in the rugged Pac-10 this season will be few. Just ask ninth-ranked Arizona, which was swept in the Bay area.

Few - if any - teams will sweep the Washington roadtrip, as the Bruins did to improve to 2-0 in conference play. For that reason, even though it's only the first weekend of league play, they reacted as if it were a late-season victory.

"These are two road wins they can probably in March put in the bank, if we can take care of things at home," coach Jim Harrick said. "I wouldn't want to come up here in February."

Three factors enabled the Bruins to escape: Their play in the final minute, their tenacious defense, and Henderson.

"If we aren't a good defensive team, we're 0-2," said assistant Lorenzo Romar, noting the Bruins held Washington to 44.8 percent shooting and 14.3 percent from 3-point range. (Washington State shot 30.1 percent.)

Strategically, the key move was a switch from a man-to-man to a 2-3 zone with 12 minutes left. The Huskies made five field goals the rest of the way.

"That was the game," Romar said. "We were having trouble containing them. In the zone, we felt we could keep them from penetrating and doing those curl plays that kept producing baskets."

There were few fast break opportunities for either team in the taut second half. When the Bruins avoided turnovers, they often looked to Henderson, their best half-court offensive player. Through baskets and assists, he accounted for 10 straight points in a crucial second-half stretch.

In all, he finished with 22 points on just 12 shots - and in four games in the state of Washington the sophomore forward now has 95 points.

"I must feel like I want to go home so bad I need to hurry and get it over with," he joked.

The Huskies, who lost at Michigan by a point, may be the most improved team in the Pacific-10. They have size, in seven-foot, 270-pound center Todd MacCulloch, and a plethora of scorers surrounding him, like Mark Sanford (20 points) and Bryant Boston (19). And unlike last year, they are confident and under control. After dismantling USC Thursday night, they had the swagger of a team that expected to beat UCLA.

"We should have won the game," Boston said. "We're not playing on the road."

The teams exchanged baskets into the final minutes, and with 1:48 left Sanford hit a free throw to tie it at 70-70.

After Boston dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds, Bailey took Jason Hamilton one-on-one. He was fouled as he rose for a mid-range jumper, then hit both free throws for a 72-70 lead.

"I thought I could take him all the time," said Bailey, who had 18 points.

Then came the most critical mistake of the game, as Hamilton overthrew an alley-oop pass to Sanford. The ball went out of bounds - to UCLA.

The desperate Huskies fouled the first chance they got, but with 32.6 seconds left Henderson hit two, and the lead was 74-70.