By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - UCLA ran its transition game and press to near perfection Saturday, driving Villanova to distraction en route to a 93-65 victory, the Bruins' fifth straight.

"It was a great feeling to get it done in a convincing fashion," said Earl Watson, who had 17 points and eight assists. "We played with a lot of energy and we pressed for 40 minutes. That's hard to do."

The Bruins (9-4) led by 31 points in the second half of the second meeting between the teams since 1971, when John Wooden's UCLA defeated Villanova 68-62 for the NCAA championship. The 90-year-old former coach watched the game from his usual second-row seat behind the Bruins' bench.

Two days ago, the Bruins nearly blew a 19-point lead before beating 19th-ranked Southern California 80-75.

"We did a better job of putting this team away," UCLA coach Steve Lavin said. "We were able to take it from 19 to blowout level."

Villanova (10-4) fell out of contention about nine minutes in when UCLA took a double-digit lead it never relinquished.

"No question we got intimidated early in the game," coach Steve Lappas said. "We missed a couple of shots and the floodgates opened."

The Wildcats were led by Michael Bradley, who got most of his 18 points on dunks before fouling out with 2:21 remaining.

"They came out and pressed our brains out. We turned the ball over and the press killed us," Bradley said.

The Wildcats committed 26 turnovers, giving them 55 in their last two losses, including a 76-67 defeat against Providence on Tuesday.

"The turnovers were absolutely horrendous," Lappas said. "You have that many and you don't give yourself a chance to win."

Jason Kapono had a career-high 28 points as the Bruins improved to 71-7 in non-conference games at Pauley Pavilion since the 1989-90 season.

Lavin capped a tumultuous week by earning his 100th career victory, giving him a 100-42 record in five seasons. UCLA athletic director Peter Dalis said Tuesday he'd spoken twice to Rick Pitino in the last month, although Dalis denied the conversations involved Lavin's job. Dalis' phone calls were news to Lavin.

Lavin reached the century mark faster than any coach in modern UCLA history except predecessor Jim Harrick, who got there in the seventh game of his fifth season. Lavin took over after Harrick was fired.

"It's been a long week for him and it's great he could get his 100th victory," said Watson, the senior captain. "He has us at a whole other level that I haven't seen before."

The Bruins continued pressing even as they led by 26 points against a Wildcats team that never adjusted to UCLA's frenetic transition game.

"We were so out of whack," Lappas said. "Our guys tried, they just couldn't do anything right."

UCLA dominated the boards 46-29, including a 19-9 edge offensively.

The Bruins started the second half with a 21-9 spurt, including 10 in a row, that put them ahead 65-40. The Wildcats dissolved in a series of turnovers and missed shots.

"By pressing, it gets our juices flowing," Kapono said. "When you're up 25 or 30, that's a good feeling."

Matt Barnes had 15 points and tied his career high with six steals, while T.J. Cummings scored all of his 13 points in the second half when he started in place of center Dan Gadzuric, who had back spasms and didn't return.

About the only thing the Bruins didn't do was score 100 points, disappointing fans who shouted, "we want doughnuts" - which would have been free if the team had reached 100.