Bruins are on top of it

It happened so fast.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute rebounded a Kevin Love miss, scored and was fouled. Mbah a Moute missed the free throw, but Russell Westbrook put in the rebound. Westbrook made two free throws after the first one bounced so high it seemed headed for the rafters. Darren Collison made two more foul shots with 2.5 seconds left in regulation.

And with that came overtime. And with overtime came a thunderous 77-67 win for UCLA over Stanford at Pauley Pavilion, where the fans never sat for the final seven minutes Thursday. It took a 14-point second-half comeback and recovery from a five-point deficit in the final 1:09 of regulation to lead UCLA to its third straight Pacific 10 Conference regular-season title.

It was a hard-earned win and Collison was honest about it. The foul call on Lawrence Hill at the end of regulation? “I was fortunate to get a foul on that call,” Collison said. “I heard it was a makeup.”

Three of Collison’s teammates -- Love, Mbah a Moute and Westbrook -- were telling Collison “shhh.” But Hill didn’t complain. “He drew contact when he went to the basket,” Hill said. “It was still on him to make the free throws.”

The third-ranked Bruins (27-3, 15-2) may not yet understand how it was they withstood seventh-ranked Stanford (24-5, 13-4) and its 7-foot twins, Brook and Robin Lopez, and Stanford’s making nine of its first 12 shots and holding a 32-18 lead early in the second half.

A daring pass from Collison to Mbah a Moute with 2:48 left in overtime that ended in a Mbah a Moute dunk gave UCLA only its second lead of the game, 65-63, and its first since 2-0.

An uncontested Collison layup at the final buzzer on a outlet pass from Love, even with Bruins Coach Ben Howland asking for the scoring to stop, was the final triumphant energy release for UCLA.

Collison finished with a game-high 24 points, Westbrook had 19, Love had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Mbah a Moute 10 points and 11 rebounds.

“It was God answering my prayers,” Howland said of watching Westbrook’s high-bouncing free throw drop in. “I am grateful our team has now won three championships in a row in the Pac-10. This is the best the conference has been in over 25 years.”

The game had seemed lost earlier. There was a moment after Josh Shipp had made his first three-point shot of the night and Love had just blocked Landry Fields’ shot and Collison located Shipp beyond the three-point line.

Everyone at Pauley Pavilion inhaled together, but Shipp’s shot clanked off the front rim. Instead of a cheer there was a groan. “That’s how it went all game,” Love said. “Every time we seemed to get going they’d answer and all of a sudden be ahead again by nine or 10 points.”

Before Shipp missed that three-pointer, UCLA had cut the lead to six. After he missed, it was a letdown. But UCLA didn’t end the fight. Collison converted a four-point play with 9:50 left, making a three-pointer while he fell backward, pushed by Stanford guard Mitch Johnson. “I was fouled there,” Collison said.

Collison made his free throw and Stanford’s lead, which had been 32-18 after Robin Lopez opened the second half with a layup, was 45-43. Stanford went back ahead by as many as 11 points, but fans were on their feet down the stretch.

Stanford backup Taj Finger banked in an 18-footer with 1:09 left to give the Cardinal a 60-55 lead, and that’s when the game really got good.

Mbah a Moute’s rebound basket made it 60-57. He missed a free throw, but Westbrook, who scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, scored on the rebound to make it 60-59 with 49.2 seconds left. Brook Lopez made a foul shot to put Stanford up by two, but Finger fouled Westbrook, who bounced in the first free throw and swished the second to tie the score at 61-61.

Lawrence Hill knocked in a leaner in the lane with 7.7 seconds left in regulation to give Stanford a 63-61 lead, but Hill fouled Collison, and the 89% foul shooter made both shots to force overtime.

This is the first conference championship for Love. As juniors Collison and Mbah a Moute and sophomore Westbrook sat by his side, Love echoed his coach.

“A prayer answered,” Love said. “This is big for me. These guys already have theirs. This is my first time around and it feels great.”

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diane.pucin@latimes.com