UCLA 79, Washington St. 74

PULLMAN, Wash., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Jason Kapono scored five points in the final minute Saturday as No. 19 UCLA held on for a 79-74 Pac-10 Conference victory over Washington State, its 18th straight win over the Cougars.

With the contest tied at 71-71, Kapono drove the left baseline. Defender Mike Bush fell down, looking for an offensive foul. But no call was made and Kapono converted an uncontested layup to give the Bruins the lead for good with 1:20 left.

After Washington State's Cedrick Hughey was called for traveling, Kapono was fouled by Bush while making another layup. The junior forward completed the three-point play to give the Bruins a 76-71 lead with 35 seconds left.

Washington State was plagued by foul problems as three Cougars fouled out in the final two minutes.

UCLA (7-2) completed a sweep of its trip to the state of Washington and is off to a 2-0 start in conference play. Dan Gadzuric scored 20 points for the Bruins.

Marcus Moore collected 17 points and eight assists for Washington State (4-5), which was playing its conference opener.

The Cougars have lost nine in a row to UCLA at home and 26 straight overall against ranked opponents. The have not defeated a ranked team since beating No. 25 California in 1997.