Collison steps on gas for Bruins

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- This was a step-back statement by Darren Collison.

UCLA’s junior point guard did a crossover dribble, moved two steps farther away from his defender and the basket, took aim from 26 feet and made the three-pointer. A tiny fist pump was Collison’s only outward exhibition of joy.

Collison scored a career-high 33 points Saturday night as the eighth-ranked Bruins beat Oregon State, 85-62, in a Pacific 10 Conference game in front of a season-high crowd of 8,235 at Gill Coliseum.

Those were the most points by a Bruin since Dijon Thompson had 39 against Arizona State in 2005. Collison made all 13 of his free throws, and freshman Kevin Love had 16 points and 21 rebounds.

Collison’s celebratory three-pointer gave the Bruins (18-2, 6-1) a 60-40 lead, and it seemed to mark Collison as fully healthy and happy on a basketball court again.

It was the second game in a row where Collison broke his personal scoring record (he had 22 against Oregon), and the Bruins needed it after a lackluster first half that saw them leading, 43-39.

When the rest of his teammates stood around, tapping their feet, making halfhearted attempts at playing defense or losing track of the shot clock or shooting careless airballs, Collison made a play.

He ran the court after a made free throw to accept an outlet pass from Love and scored. He did a hippity-hop step for a layup. He practiced what Coach Ben Howland preaches -- make a jump stop in the lane, create a little space, make a short shot. He clapped his hands, demanding the ball or some attention to detail from the rest of his team.

The junior sat out the first six games of this season because of a sprained left knee. He had to play with a brace for nearly a month, and two weeks ago Collison had been downcast after hurting his left hip against Washington.

“I’m feeling good again,” Collison had said after the Oregon victory. He was feeling great Saturday.

Howland praised Collison’s performance.

“He played poised and smart, and I’m really happy for him,” Howland said. “Now we’ve got to build off this.”

And Love said the Bruins are more dangerous than ever. “We’ll be so much more impressive,” Love said.

Collison’s one-man stand did come against the worst team in the conference. The Beavers (6-14, 0-8) lost their 10th straight game. No team since USC was 0-14 in the then-Pacific 8 Conference has gone winless in league play, but Oregon State seems headed that way. Coach Jay John was fired last Sunday.

And yet Oregon State twice led the Bruins late in the first half.

UCLA did rouse itself to score the first eight points of the second half and expand the 43-39 lead to 51-39 before Seth Tarver made a free throw with 15:48 left in the game. Oregon State didn’t score again until Sean Carter made a foul shot with 13:35 left.

The Bruins continued to pull away with Love’s outlet passes leading to layups. Lorenzo Mata-Real, returning after a concussion, had a one-handed slam off a lob late in the game to punctuate the victory.

Casual carelessness marked UCLA’s first two minutes of play. There was a Bruins turnover, an airball three-point attempt from Josh Shipp and two easy layups for Oregon State forward Omari Johnson, a freshman from Los Angeles Dorsey High.

A quick Howland timeout gained UCLA’s attention, and Russell Westbrook forced an Oregon State foul with a drive to the basket. After Westbrook’s two free throws, Collison scored five straight points and to make up for the first airball, Shipp hit a three-pointer.

That little flurry gave the Bruins a lead that continued to grow a bit. Two Shipp free throws put UCLA ahead, 23-13, with 8:37 left, but then came another stodgy stretch by the Bruins, especially on defense.

Seth Tarver hit a three-pointer to put the Beavers up, 33-32, but Calvin Hampton fouled Love while jockeying for rebound position and Love quickly made both free throws to put UCLA back up, 34-33. Lathen Wallace maneuvered into the lane for an easy jump shot and Oregon State led again, 35-34, and the crowd stood

They roared again when, with the clock down to 1.4 seconds, Wallace lifted a soaring one-hander into the basket to send the Beavers enthusiastically into the locker room.