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Updated: Saturday, December 21, 2002 8:54 PM EST
NCAA BASKETBALL RECAP
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(18) Kansas 87, UCLA 70
UCLA BRUINS
UCLA Bruins
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KANSAS JAYHAWKS
Kansas Jayhawks
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LAWRENCE, Kansas (Ticker) -- Kirk Hinrich's hot start helped Kansas exact revenge against UCLA.

Hinrich keyed two key spurts in the first half and finished with a season-high 27 points as the 18th-ranked Jayhawks rolled to an 87-70 rout of the Bruins.

Last January 12, Kansas had a 13-game winning streak snapped by UCLA. But the Jayhawks seized control early in the rematch, courtesy of Hinrich's early success.

Hinrich opened the scoring with a jumper for Kansas (6-3), which raced to a 9-0 lead and never relinquished the lead. The Jayhawks had a 19-11 edge with 8:26 left in the first half before pulling away with 14 consecutive points.

Hinrich sparked the run with a 3-pointer and followed a layup by Nick Collison with a three-point play. Collison added a fast-break dunk and Keith Langford made 1-of-2 free throws to give the Jayhawks a 33-11 cushion with 5:34 to go.

"We were really good in the first half," Collison said. "We set the tempo and pressured really well."

Kansas led by double digits thereafter and had its biggest advantage at 48-22 on a 3-pointer by Langford with 64 seconds left in the first half.

"I thought defensively we were sensational in the first half," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "We broke the game open with steals and all of a sudden it was an 18-point game. When the crowd gets rocking like that, that just gets you going faster on the defensive end."

"We obviously dug ourselves too deep of a hole in the first half," UCLA coach Steve Lavin said. "We were never able to get over the hump and into single digits. Our whole team struggled. I think we should be discouraged."

Hinrich made 8-of-13 shots, 5-of-9 3-pointers and 6-of-7 free throws. He fell one point shy of matching his career high.

Wayne Simien had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Collison added 18 points as the Jayhawks improved to 5-0 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Langford finished with 15 points for Kansas, which shot 52 percent (30-of-58) from the floor and made 8-of-18 3-pointers.

"That is what we've been trying to do all year," Simien said. "UCLA is the best team that we have played all year. They are very athletic and we just took it to them."

Dijon Thompson scored 21 points to lead UCLA (2-4), which has lost consecutive games following its first winning streak of the season.

Jason Kapono collected 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Bruins, who were held to 39 percent (29-of-75) shooting and attempted just six free throws - 22 fewer than the Jayhawks.

"Their high-intensity defense caused us to take bad shots," Thompson said. "We let their pressure get to us."

UCLA used a 23-12 run to pull within 77-66 with 3:05 left. But Hinrich buried a 3-pointer and two free throws in the final 2:46 as Kansas maintained a comfortable lead.


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