Stoudamire scores career-high 34 in rout

While the rest of the nation was celebrating Valentine's Day, Salim Stoudamire and the Arizona men's basketball team were showing no love to the UCLA Bruins.

Led by the junior guard's career-best 34 points, Arizona (16-6) trounced UCLA, 107-83. Four fouls weren't enough to slow Stoudamire, who shot 13-of-17 from the floor, including 7-of-9 from beyond the arc, as the Wildcats climbed to 8-5 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

"We definitely got our swagger back," Stoudamire said, "But we still have to keep our focus."

The southpaw shook off an injury to his left wrist suffered midway through the first half while drawing an offensive foul. The injury proved not to be a factor as Stoudamire scored 18 of his 34 points in the second half. After the game,the Portland, Ore. native joked about the injury,which he said is still causing him soreness.

"It affected my free throws," Stoudamire quipped.

The junior was 1-4 from the charity stripe.

While Stoudamire was torching the Bruins, teammate Andre Iguodala was writing a new chapter into the Arizona record books.

With 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with his 14 points, the sophomore registered his third triple-double of his career, all of which have come this season. Iguodala's performance against UCLA enabled the Springfield, Ill. native to jump ahead of Loren Woods' two career triple-doubles, set when the 7-foot-1 center played for the Wildcats between 1999-2001.

"He's just like Luke Walton was last year for us, except more athletic," Stoudamire said of Iguodala.

Iguodala said he knows he couldn't have done it without the support of his fellow Wildcats.

"I thank my teammates," Iguodala said. "If they don't shoot the ball well, I wouldn't be able to find them. I'm just in the right place at the right time."

Despite the exploits of Stoudamire and Iguodala, guard Chris Rodgers has been the star for Arizona during the Wildcats' home wins over UCLA and Southern California.

The sophomore responded to head coach Lute Olson's decision to start him for just the third time this season by scoring 16 points in a team-high 37 minutes. Rodgers started in place of Hassan Adams, who suffered a slight midfoot sprain.

In one 26-second span late in the first half, Rodgers scored eight points. After stealing an inbound pass, Rodgers connected on a running layup and drew the foul. He then compensated for missing his free throw by drawing UCLA into a charging foul, and hitting a 3-pointer in the ensuing UA possession. Rodgers wasn't done there, however. With the help of Iguodala and freshman Mustafa Shakur, Rodgers forced another Bruin turnover, which Rodgers also converted into a 3-pointer ÷ 19 seconds after his first trey.

Swiping the ball became commonplace for the Wildcats, who notched 15 steals to the Bruins' five. Rodgers led the Wildcats in the steal department by posting four for the second straight game.

Rodgers, who is quickly becoming an offensive catalyst for Arizona, drew praise from his teammates.

"He gave us a pretty big spark," Shakur said of Rodgers. "That's what we need from him. He's been picking it up for us."

In an effort to avoid falling behind early, Olson's squad went to a full-court defense from the game's onset. The press was effective, as Arizona prevented the Bruins from jumping out to a quick lead the way Stanford and USC opened up against the Wildcats in their last two games.

The most telling stat on the afternoon came on the offensive boards, where Arizona shut down UCLA. Iguodala alone had more offensive rebounds (5) than the Bruins, who managed to grab just four offensive boards.

Although he was one of six Wildcats scoring in double figures öa feat Arizona accomplished for the second consecutive game -- center Channing Frye was kept off the glass, grabbing zero rebounds. Frye only saw 15 minutes of court time and fouled out with 4:38 left to play in the game.

Stoudamire and Rodgers, who both hail from Portland, will return to their home state when the Wildcats square up against Oregon and Oregon State on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

But with some of his loved ones in the crowd on this Valentine's Day, Stoudamire said he felt right at home in Tucson.

"My girl and my mom are here," Stoudamire said. "So that helped."