ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Playing at home, UCLA struggled to beat Albany and trailed winless Coppin State by five points at halftime, making it appear the 16th-ranked Bruins might be overrated.
It sure didn't look that way Saturday.
Jordan Farmar scored 10 of his 24 points during a game-clinching 16-2 run, Arron Afflalo added 18 points and eight rebounds, and the Bruins beat No. 17 Nevada 67-56 in the nightcap of the 12th annual John R. Wooden Classic.
"UCLA's the best team we've played so far," Nevada star Nick Fazekas said. "They'll probably be the best team we'll see all year."
That statement might seem somewhat shocking to those involved with the programs at Albany (2-5), which lost to UCLA 73-65 on Nov. 29, and Coppin State (0-7), beaten by the Bruins 69-57 last Sunday.
It wouldn't had they watched this game.
"That was an outstanding win for our team because we beat a really good team," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "This is the same team minus one or two kids who beat Texas in the (NCAA) Tournament last year.
"We won today because we did a great job defensively."
The Wolf Pack shot 37.3 percent -- nearly 11 percent below their season percentage.
No. 13 Washington topped New Mexico 81-71 in the opener of the doubleheader named for the former UCLA coach who guided the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships in a 12-year span before retiring in 1975.
The 95-year-old Wooden attended the games at the Anaheim Arena.
Darren Collison matched his career high with 10 points and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had eight points and nine rebounds for the Bruins (7-1), who shot 52.2 percent.
Both are freshman, while Farmar and Afflalo are sophomores. Center Ryan Wright, who played 33 minutes for the Bruins, also is a freshman.
Farmar shot 10-of-13 including 3-of-3 from 3-point range. He didn't play against Albany on Nov. 29 because of a sprained right ankle that's obviously feeling much better now.
"I would say I'm about 90 percent," he said. "It gets better every day."
Nevada coach Mark Fox said Farmar took over the game at a crucial time, "and that certainly was the difference."
"He's a terrific point guard," Fox said. "He shot the ball much better than he has on the season, so he's obviously healthy."
Fazekas scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half and also had seven rebounds to lead Nevada (6-1), which had won its previous 14 regular-season games away from the Lawlor Events Center in Reno.
"He's a great player. He'll be playing in the NBA whenever he leaves college," Howland said of Fazekas, a 6-foot-11 junior.
Mo Charlo had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolf Pack, who opened the season by winning six straight games for just the second time in school history. The 1951-52 team won its first 14 games.
Fazekas scored nine points to spark a 14-6 run to begin the second half, cutting UCLA's lead to 39-38.
But that was as close as the Wolf Pack would get.
A basket by Fazekas drew Nevada within one point again before Farmar scored five points to trigger the game-clinching spurt, which he capped by making a 3-pointer to give the Bruins a 62-47 lead with 3:57 remaining.
"I was just looking to be aggressive," Farmar said. "I had a lot of daylight."
Afflalo (12), Collison (10) and Farmar (9) combined for all but two of UCLA's points as the Bruins took a 33-24 halftime lead.
The Bruins were held scoreless for a span of nearly 6 1/2 minutes, but the Wolf Pack didn't take advantage, getting only five points for an 8-4 lead.
Nevada led 14-11 before Farmar scored nine points to spark a 15-2 run that put the Bruins on top 26-16.
The Wolf Pack shot 7-of-21 in the first half while the Bruins were 13-of-27.
The Bruins won despite playing without centers Michael Fey (sprained right ankle) and Lorenzo Mata (concussion) and forward Josh Shipp (injured right hip).
"We're like a MASH unit," said Howland, adding that Fey and Mata should be able to return to practice in the next few days and Shipp, who hasn't played this season, wasn't that far away.
"We have a student who helps out with the video -- he tore his ACL the other day," Howland said. "That's how it's been."
