Bruins Buried in Sand : UCLA: Mills scores 28 points and sixth-ranked Arizona rolls to 99-80 victory in Pac-10 finale.

Down in the desert, where winter rains have wrought havoc on the arid landscape, the UCLA Bruins were buried Saturday.

They were buried beneath the onslaught of a powerful, energetic force known as the Arizona Wildcats, who thrashed UCLA, 99-80, before 13,990 at McKale Center.

With Chris Mills, the conference’s player of the year, scoring 28 points, the Bruins were in ruins, if only for the moment. They are expected to get a reprieve today with an invitation to the NCAA tournament.

UCLA (21-10, 11-7) can use the antidote. Trailing by as many as 32 points with 10 minutes 8 seconds left, the Bruins ended their regular season with a listless effort.

“We weren’t trying to make a statement,” said Mills, who is friends with many of the Bruins. “We didn’t want to embarrass UCLA. That’s why we took the starters out.”

Had No. 6 Arizona (24-3 overall, 17-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference) wanted to, it could have handed the Bruins their worst defeat of the season.

“Once it started going our way in the second half, there was no way they could beat us,” Mills said.

Arizona dismantled the Bruins from the inside. Ed Stokes, the Wildcats’ 7-foot center, led the charge with 6-7 Ray Owes and the 6-6 Mills. Arizona outrebounded UCLA, 56-46, but many Bruin rebounds came when the game was no longer in question.

Stokes had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Owes and Mills had eight rebounds each.

“There wasn’t much I could do with all of them around me,” said Richard Petruska, UCLA’s 6-10 center.

Petruska had 13 points and 12 rebounds, but was one of four Bruins with four fouls. The fouls came out of frustration of being unable to handle the more physical Wildcats.

That, in turn, perpetuated the frustration.

Ed O’Bannon, who also had four fouls, had two fouls in the first 66 seconds. He had three points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes.

“We tried to make him do his stuff from outside,” Mills said.

O’Bannon had plenty of opportunities but made one of 11 shots. O’Bannon said the two quick fouls affected him. He said he was expecting a rough-and-tumble game against the Wildcats.

“Unfortunately, the refs didn’t let us do that,” he said. “It made me less aggressive.”

Said Coach Jim Harrick: “We got into horrendous foul trouble early, and you can’t do that.”

Not against a team of Arizona’s caliber. Harrick, who was ejected Thursday night during a game against Arizona State, received a technical foul Saturday with 12:33 remaining. Mills made both free throws to give Arizona a 69-43 lead.

Of the technical, Harrick said: “I said, ‘Hey, Richie (Ballesteros, the official), please watch it close now.’ I didn’t want people to get injured.”

On this day, it mattered little what the UCLA coaches said. Even when UCLA came back during the first half, the Wildcats were undeterred.

When the Bruins rallied from a 29-13 deficit with 9:22 left in the half, it appeared the game would be close. Tyus Edney, who scored 16 points, made a three-pointer from the top of the circle to cut the margin to 39-33 with 1:22 left.

Khalid Reeves made a three-pointer seven seconds later, and the Wildcat lead was nine. UCLA tried to close the margin before halftime, but Edney became tangled with Damon Stoudamire, and officials called a jump ball.

“I think I was fouled, but the call could go either way,” Edney said.

Arizona regained possession and Stoudamire threw an ally-oop pass to Mills, who made the dunk for an 11-point halftime lead.

“They were jumping on us in every way, shape or form,” Harrick said.

Bolstered by the impressive dunk, the Wildcats came out strong for the second half and took a 49-33 lead with 18:31 remaining. From that point, the Wildcats gradually turned it into a rout the likes of which UCLA had not seen since a 104-82 defeat by California on Jan. 24.

“It seemed like they could do what they wanted do,” Edney said.

And UCLA could do little to stop them.

* USC FALLS FLAT

The Trojans appear to be NIT-bound despite being routed by Arizona State, 101-67, in the season finale. C5