UCLA shows closing power

The students begged after UCLA had defeated Stanford, 75-61, on Saturday afternoon.

The victory was the 20th straight at home for the Bruins and it clinched their first undefeated season at Pauley Pavilion since 1974-75 as well as at least a share of the Pacific 10 Conference regular-season title. They can win the title outright by beating Washington State in Pullman on Thursday.

But the fans wanted more.

“One more year! One more year! One more year.”

That was their hope for junior guard Arron Afflalo.

The No. 4 Bruins (25-3, 14-2) earned some payback. Stanford (17-10, 9-7) had overcome a 17-point deficit Jan. 28 to hand UCLA one of its three losses this season. Afflalo was teary-eyed after that defeat. He was all smiles Saturday.

Afflalo led the Bruins with 20 points. He had a four-point play near the end of the first half that Stanford Coach Trent Johnson considered crucial. He played such skintight defense on Cardinal forward Lawrence Hill that Darren Collison called it “inspiring.”

“Arron is the heart and soul of our team,” said UCLA center Lorenzo Mata.

After last season, Afflalo considered leaving for the NBA. This season he has done a resourceful job of deflecting the answer as to whether he will return for his senior season.

“I’ve had a fun time here,” Afflalo said Saturday. “I’m just happy to be in the moment right now. I haven’t put too much thought about the NBA. It’s good to go undefeated at home. All Bruin supporters deserve it.”

Good answer.

Stanford stayed close for a half. Howland said his team was so eager to play that the players all arrived earlier than usual.

“Normally they’re here an hour, 15 minutes before the game,” Howland said. “Today they were dressed and ready to go an hour 45 minutes early. They were really amped up. Maybe too much.”

Afflalo, Collison and Michael Roll all missed open jump shots at the start. Afflalo, an 81% free-throw shooter, even missed two of his first three free throws. The Bruins had a 36-33 halftime lead because Afflalo scored on a four-point play with 59.7 seconds left. He made a fall-away three-point basket and was fouled. The free throw gave UCLA a 36-30 lead.

As is their way, the Bruins used an offensive burst in the second half to take control. In the matter of 90 seconds, a 43-40 lead became 50-40. Collison made a 12-foot floater then Luc Richard Mbah a Moute made his eighth three-pointer of the season. Josh Shipp followed with a steal from Stanford guard Mitch Johnson and fed Mbah a Moute for a layup.

After a Stanford timeout, Roll saved an errant Bruins pass by scooping the ball to Russell Westbrook. The freshman swished a 22-foot three-pointer and most of the fight left the Cardinal.

“That’s exciting, to go through an entire season undefeated at home,” Howland said. “It’s hard to do. Everybody is coming in, giving us their best shot.”

Officially UCLA was also undefeated at Pauley in 1994-95 but on a technicality. California beat UCLA but later had to forfeit all of its victories because of NCAA violations.

Howland acknowledged that he realizes there is chatter about Afflalo leaving after this season.

“It’s tough on those kids,” he said. “They’re constantly getting those questions. Arron’s handled it great.”

This win was easier because Stanford’s Anthony Goods, who had 20 points in the victory last month over the Bruins, was on the bench because of a sprained ankle. Freshman 7-footer Brook Lopez led the Cardinal with 23 points, nine rebounds and one blocked shot, but UCLA’s interior game was also fierce.

Mata had eight points, four rebounds and three blocked shots and Mbah a Moute finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes. Only foul trouble kept all those numbers from being better.

And as for those “one more year” chants? Mbah a Moute, a sophomore, heard them too. “I thought they were for me,” he said. Not this year. But maybe next.

diane.pucin@latimes.com