Bruins bruise Arizona

If UCLA needed more proof its program is on the upswing, the 14th-ranked Bruins got it with their largest margin of victory over Arizona since 1983.

Arron Afflalo scored a career-high 27 points and UCLA survived a second-half drought for an 84-73 victory Saturday in Los Angeles, the Bruins’ first home win over the Wildcats in four years.

“We’re heading in a positive direction, but the sweep over Arizona doesn’t mean we’re there,” Afflalo said.

The Bruins swept Arizona for the first time since 1996-97 and the 11-point win was UCLA’s largest over the Wildcats since a 111-58 victory 23 years ago.

The victory was salve for a UCLA program that had been battered by huge losses to the Wildcats in recent years, including 35- and 36-point defeats in 2002-03, Steve Lavin’s final season as coach.

The Bruins lost by 25 and 24 points in coach Ben Howland’s first season two years ago. Last month, UCLA won in Tucson 85-79, its first victory there in nine years.

Besides Afflalo, whose previous best was 23 against Stanford on Dec. 29, three of UCLA’s starters were in double figures. Jordan Farmar had 13 points, Ryan Hollins 12 and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute 11.

Farmar sprained his left ankle, but Howland said he didn’t think it was serious.

Arizona dropped its third straight conference game for the first time since February 1984, coach Lute Olson’s first season in Tucson. The Wildcats fell to 1-5 against ranked opponents this season.

Arizona State 68, USC 65: At Los Angeles, freshman Jeff Pendergraph had 15 points and seven rebounds, Kevin Kruger scored five of his 14 in the last 431/2 seconds on free throws, and the last-place Sun Devils surprised the Trojans. Gabe Pruitt led the Trojans with 22 points and five rebounds.

California 62, Oregon 60: At Eugene, Ore., Ayinde Ubaka scored 20 points to lead the Golden Bears past the Ducks. It was the fourth straight win for the Golden Bears, who improved to 5-2 on the road in conference games this season.

Stanford 71, Oregon State 64: At Corvallis, Ore., Chris Hernandez had 22 of his 28 points in the second half to lead the Cardinal over the Beavers, despite losing leading scorer Matt Haryasz to a first-half injury. Nick DeWitz bounced back from two terrible games to score 17 off the bench for the Beavers, who lost for the fifth straight time.