Malcolm Lee and Reeves Nelson scored 21 points apiece and UCLA dominated in the second half to defeat Washington State 80-71 in the Pac-10 Conference opener for both teams at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night.

Washington State scored 13 straight points in the first half to erase a slim deficit and take a 37-29 lead into the break.

But UCLA (9-4) opened the second half on a 20-6 run, capped by a Tyler Honeycutt jumper to take a 49-43 lead.

The Cougars stayed close the rest of the way, but Josh Smith’s basket gave the Bruins a 60-54 lead with 6:57 to play and Washington State (10-3) never got any closer.

The Bruins, who struggled to put the game away at the free throw line in their last game against UC Irvine, made 12 of 15 down the stretch in this one.

Honeycutt, who was questionable with a shoulder injury, started and scored 14 points for the Bruins, who won their sixth straight.

Klay Thompson led Washington State with 26 points, but shot 6 of 17 from the field.