THOMPSON DOES DAMAGE QUICKLY UCLA SENIOR HITS 27 OF HIS 39 IN FIRST HALF UCLA 95, ASU 76.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

As Dijon Thompson carried UCLA through much of the season, he usually waited until late within a game to take over.

Not against Arizona State, which never recovered from the best 20 minutes of Thompson's career.

The senior power forward scored 27 of his career-high 39 points before intermission, and UCLA was never threatened in the second half en route to a 95-76 pasting of the Sun Devils in front of 7,227 Thursday.

It was the fifth time this season Thompson scored at least 25 points, and his fourth consecutive game above 20. It was also the most points scored by a Bruin at Pauley Pavilion since Don MacLean's 39 against Pittsburgh in 1991.

``Unbelievable. I don't think I've ever had 27 points in a half,'' said Thompson, wracking his brain for high school memories. ``It was unbelievable. It feels great. Pretty much every shot I took felt good.''

No matter which Sun Devil guarded Thompson - there were plenty between Steve Moore, Tim Pierce, Serge Angounou and Allen Morill - he wasn't slowed. Thompson made 13 of 18 shots, was 7 for 9 from 3-point range, had six rebounds and five assists.

``After the first couple of shots and I was hitting, they were still playing off me,'' Thompson said. ``I was kind of surprised.''

Since scoring a total of 12 points in losses to Stanford and Cal, Thompson is averaging 27.3 points in leading UCLA to three wins in four games.

The win was significant in UCLA's quest for an NCAA tournament bid. The Bruins (13-7, 7-5 Pac-10) moved one-half game ahead of idle Stanford and sit alone in third place.

Also important is UCLA's sweep of ASU (16-8, 5-7) in the season series, something the NCAA selection committee could look at when awarding bids.

The Sun Devils were led by Steve Moore's 31 points, and Ike Diogu added 20.

``Honestly, I was surprised when I got the halftime stats because everyone was a good shot,'' UCLA coach Ben Howland said of Thompson. ``Everyone was within the framework of the offense, or the game. He was just absolutely unbelievable and showed why he is not only one of the best players in our league, but one of the best players in the country.''

In scoring 27 points in the first half, Thompson made 10 of 12 shots and helped UCLA to a 46-32 lead.

And when ASU paid more attention to Thompson in the second half, Jordan Farmar took over. He scored all 18 of his points in a second half in which the Bruins shot 70 percent from the field. The closest ASU got was 47-39 with 17:40 to play.

The 6-foot-7 Thompson had several chances to reach 40 points, but made 1 of 2 free throws with 3:09 to play and then was called for a charge with 68 seconds left before leaving the game to a standing ovation.

``It's very hard for me to come out and hit my first shot,'' Thompson said. ``For me to come out and hit my first shot, and a 3-pointer as well, I knew I was going to shoot the ball pretty well.''

Thompson, whose previous career-high was 29 points, began his night with a 3-pointer 70 seconds in, and he kept scoring. The Bruins continuously beat ASU up the court and scored easy baskets. Thompson had a lay-up in transition to give the Bruins a 13-11 lead, and less than a minute later he stole the ball and dunked.

And when Thompson scored on a lay-up off a feed from Josh Shipp with 8:14 remaining in the half, it was Thompson 19, Sun Devils 19. (and UCLA led 22-19).

``To tell you the truth, I don't think I even saw him score his first 15,'' UCLA center Michael Fey said. ``I was in the game so much, and I was looking up and saw the score and the fouls and everything and saw he had 19. I was like, 'Wait a minute. I don't even remember him scoring.' ''

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(color) UCLA's Dijon Thompson goes above the crowd for a loose ball in Thursday's Pac-10 win over Arizona State.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News