COLLISON'S COURSE WORKS UCLA BASKETBALL: GUARD SCORES 33 -- 20 IN FIRST HALF -- IN BRUINS' WIN. UCLA 85, OREGON STATE 62.

Byline: Brian Dohn

Staff Writer

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Perhaps UCLA coach Ben Howland should have pulled Darren Collison aside a few weeks earlier, because the junior point guard apparently needed some type of prodding.

Howland and Collison met last week, and two days after establishing a career high in points, Collison blistered Oregon State for a career- best 33 points, including going 13 for 13 from the free-throw line, to offset UCLA's ho-hum first half.

Collison's career night enabled the eighth-ranked Bruins to overcome the slow start and demolish hapless Oregon State 85-62 in front of a season-high crowd of 8,235 Saturday at Gill Coliseum.

Collison's points are the most by a UCLA player since Dijon Thompson scored 39 against Arizona State on Feb.10, 2005.

"When Darren's moving with the rest of the team like he's moving now, we have a chance to be a real special team," UCLA center Kevin Love said. "Hopefully, we can take it really far."

Collison, who scored 22 points in Thursday's win at Oregon, was 9of12from the field and added threeassists in 38 minutes.

"He was unbelievably good this weekend," Howland said of Collison. "I can't say enough about him. He's really playing poised and smart. I'm really happy for him, and now we have to build on this."

Love, the Lake Oswego (Ore.) High product, was booed at times, but there were none of the off-color or vulgar chants or signs that dominated his appearance Thursday at Oregon.

He scored 16 points, and for the second straight game he established a UCLA freshman record for rebounds by grabbing 21, three more than he had against Oregon.

The Beavers (6-14, 0-8) are trying to keep from becoming the first team to go winless in Pacific-10 Conference play.

USC lost all 14 of its conference games during the 1975-76 Pac-8 season.

"(Love) is special. Collison's special, too," Beavers interim coach Kevin Mouton said. "They have two great players, and a great coach. It's going to be interesting to see how they end up."

While Love looked leg-weary from his 35-minute, 26-point, 18-rebound performance against the Ducks, and several Bruins appeared disinterested early, Collison scored in a variety of ways. He got out in transition ahead of a low-energy Beavers defense to score on layups, and also hit his jumpers.

Collison's 3-pointer gave the Bruins a 19-13lead with 10:54 remaining in the first half, and he followed that with a steal and dunk to make it 21-13.

At one point, Oregon State's inability to get back on defense allowed Collison a breakaway layup after Seth Tarver made a free throw.

"(Transition baskets) came by surprise," Collison said. "We saw it. Kevin, you know the passes he can throw. We saw it and took advantage of it. It's going to be a real key for us. Teams are going to have to board only one guy against us, which is real good for us."

UCLA (18-2, 6-1) yielded a season- high for points in the first half as Oregon State, the worst-shooting team in the Pac-10, shot 48.5 percent from the field, but the Bruins still led 43-39 at intermission.

The Bruins then seized control when it began the second half with a 17-1 run. Collison had nine points during the spurt, including a pair of technical freethrows, and capped it with a 3-pointer from 24 feet out to make it 60-40 with 14:14 to play.

"That was a tremendous second half," Howland said. "We knew (Oregon State) would come out and play really inspired. They had a great crowd. They were really, really good in the first half. They shot 49 percent and were only down one on the boards against us."

Collison missed UCLA's first sixgames with a knee injury, and also has dealt with a hip injury. His body is now healthy, and equally important, so is his mind.

"Now, I don't have anything that bothers me and I feel 100 percent," Collison said. "It's more of a mental thing. The injuries, they can set you back, whether it's mentally, or physically. I was worrying about it, being bothered by it.

"You really can't do the moves you (usually) can do. You can't be explosive. It's a whole lot different when you're healthy."

And it comes at the perfect time as first-place UCLA nears the halfway mark of the conference season.

"He's a pure point guard," Love said of Collison. "He can really shoot the ball. He can really take it to the (basket). He's one of the fastest guards in the country, and he's a lot of fun to play with."

[e-mail]

UCLA

THURSDAY

vs. Arizona St., 7:30 p.m., Pauley Pavilion.

TV: FSN Prime Ticket

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

UCLA's Darren Collison, left, draws a foul against Oregon State's Rickey Claitt on Saturday. Collison had a game-high 33 points.

Rick Bowmer/The Associated Press