Behind a career-high 32 points and 14 rebounds from freshman forward T.J. Leaf, No. 11 UCLA ended its two-game losing skid Wednesday with a 95-79 victory over Washington State in Pullman, Wash.

"I think we got back on track with this win," said Leaf, who made 14 of 18 shots and had three assists. "We needed a game like this to regain our confidence. We worked hard for it."

The Bruins (20-3, 7-3 Pac-12) were coming off consecutive losses against Arizona at Pauley Pavilion and at USC.

They had a week to recuperate after the defeat at USC last Wednesday, while Washington State was coming off a split at the Arizona schools, completed with a victory at ASU on Sunday.

"I think our guys gave it their best shot, but in the end we were just too fatigued mentally and physically after the road trip we had," Washington State coach Ernie Kent said. "UCLA had fresh legs after having a week off, and it showed. I'm not making excuses; that's just the way it is."

UCLA also was led by Thomas Welsh's 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, Lonzo Ball's 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Aaron Holiday's 13 points.

Ball achieved a UCLA freshman assist record; he has 183 this season. Pooh Richardson held the previous record: 179 in the 1985-86 season.

"I think our freshmen (Leaf and Ball) were outstanding, and they really set the tone for us," UCLA coach Steve Alford said. "They were active. We counted 50 (pass) deflections. Our guys were after it.

"I thought for most of the game, except the first eight minutes of the second half, we played the way we wanted to play. I'm proud of our guys for playing like that on the road, where it's never easy to win in this conference."

Washington State (11-11, 4-6) was led by Ike Iroegbu's 20 points, Conor Clifford's 16 points and six rebounds and Josh Hawkinson's 15 points, five rebounds and nine assists.

UCLA outscored Washington 20-11 over the last 8:38 of the first half to lead 44-34 at halftime. Leaf scored 16 points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting. The Bruins shot 50 percent in the half.

After Washington State cut the deficit to 58-55 on a layup by Clifford with 12:28 left in the game, UCLA gained separation.

The Bruins outscored the Cougars 20-7 to increase the lead to 78-62 with 6:45 remaining. The Bruins went 7 of 8 from the field in that stretch.

During that time, Hawkinson was also held without a field goal for WSU after he had opened the second half with three 3-pointers by the 13-minute mark.

"It's a credit to our guys to withstand all those 3-pointers to start the second half," Alford said of WSU making five consecutively at one point. "We kept our head up and pulled away when things could have gone the other way around."

UCLA shot 66.7 percent in the second half. The Bruins made 57.6 percent in the game despite shooting an uncharacteristic 3 of 16 from 3-point range. UCLA outscored the Cougars 50-32 in the paint.

"Teams are making a concerted effort to take away our 3-ball," Alford said. "Lonzo and our guards did a good job recognizing that by penetrating and breaking down their defense for better scoring opportunities."

NOTES: UCLA F Ike Anigbogu did not play because of a knee injury. His status for Saturday's game at Washington is undetermined. ... WSU F Josh Hawkinson has 916 rebounds, 76 shy of the school record set by Steve Puidokas (1974-77). ... UCLA averaged 92.2 points per game, the fourth-highest average in school. UCLA's 22.1 assists per game entering the game was the second-highest mark in school history behind the 1973-74 team (22.4 assists per game). ... The Cougars' last win over a Top 15 team occurred Dec. 23, 2010, against No. 15 Baylor at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. They were 5-66 against Top 25 UCLA teams, with their win over them last season being their last win over a ranked opponent.