BRUINS TURN UP THE HEAT VILLANOVA COMMITS 26 TURNOVERS AS UCLA'S PRESS LEADS TO BLOWOUT UCLA 93, VILLANOVA 65.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

A week that started with UCLA coach Steve Lavin's feet firmly in the fire ended with his team playing like its hair was on fire. The Bruins, head to toe, are that hot.

They capped a hectic week with a resounding 93-65 rout Saturday of Villanova before a nearly national television audience and 9,798 at Pauley Pavilion.

It was the fifth consecutive win and seventh in eight games for the suddenly surging Bruins.

If UCLA is going to get much better, it might take Pete Dalis placing a few phone calls to Phil Jackson.

The Bruins, thanks again to their pace-setting fullcourt press, raced to an early lead and never took their foot off the accelerator. They forced 26 turnovers, outrebounded the taller Wildcats by 17 and never even missed Dan Gadzuric, who played just nine minutes because of back spasms.

In fact, they looked very much like a Rick Pitino-coached team.

``This was fun,'' said Jason Kapono, who led UCLA with a career-high 28 points and team-high eight rebounds. ``It was one of those games that was touted as big time, and to have the team play so well was special.''

It was particularly special for Lavin, who earned his 100th victory as head coach. Jim Harrick is the only UCLA coach who has gotten to that milestone faster.

``With school starting and the distractions, the kids did a great job of focusing on the task at hand,'' Lavin said. ``The overall energy and execution throughout the full 40 minutes was the best up to this point in the season. Our kids are playing hard and unselfishly. We did a better job of putting this team away than we did with other teams.''

This game had all the trappings of a letdown.

The Bruins (9-4), after listening to the speculation about Lavin's job, were coming off an emotional win over USC 48 hours earlier. Villanova (10-4), meanwhile, was coming off a home loss to Providence.

``Last year and the year before, we'd have definitely had a letdown,'' said junior Matt Barnes, who contributed 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and six steals. ``I think this team is a lot more mature - we've got nine juniors and seniors.''

If the Bruins were going to sleep through this one, Villanova guard Jermaine Medley made sure they didn't. Upon seeing UCLA captain Earl Watson during warmups, Medley explained in profane terms how he was going to take Watson apart.

The Bruins didn't take long to answer.

Villanova missed its first three shots, turned the ball over twice and 2 1/2 minutes into the game found itself down 6-0. The pace also took Villanova's best player, 6-foot-10 center Michael Bradley, out of the game. Though he had 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds, Villanova made little use of him in its half-court offense.

``No question we got intimidated early in the game,'' Villanova coach Steve Lappas said. ``Our turnovers were horrendous. You can't control the tempo of the game and have turnovers. We were so out of whack (against the press). When you do get it across, you're looking for guys to come from somewhere else.''

The Bruins went on a 10-0 run, with Kapono and Watson hitting transition 3-pointers, to take a 24-12 lead. When Ryan Bailey tipped in Watson's miss at the buzzer, they took a 44-30 lead into the half.

Another 10-0 run, keyed by 3-pointers from Kapono and Jason Flowers, put the Bruins ahead 65-40 with 15:29 left to play. The Bruins stretched their lead to as many as 31 points.

The Bruins, once again, continued to get help from whomever they put on the court. They had five players with five rebounds or more and got 13 points off the bench from freshman T.J. Cummings.

Flowers, the senior walk-on, had a career-high eight points, three assists and no turnovers, and guard Billy Knight added six rebounds, a block and a steal off the bench.

``This was a graphic illustration of this team's ability to improve with each game,'' Lavin said. ``That's one of the things they've been able to do - learn from their failures and learn from their experiences.''

If the Bruins are looking for their next challenge, they needn't look far. They resume conference play - a half-game behind No. 1-ranked Stanford - next weekend at Arizona State and Arizona.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Jason Kapono (24), who led the Bruins with a career-high 28 points, battles Villanova's Brooks Sales and Ricky Wright (5) for the ball.

(2) UCLA's T.J. Cummings and Villanova's Brooks Sales go for a rebound during the Bruins' 93-65 victory at Pauley Pavilion.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer