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Sophomore guard Jordan Farmar led the Bruins with 24 points in their 67-56 win over 17th-ranked N

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Sophomore guard Aaron Afflalo dribbles the ball upcourt, followed by freshmen Ryan Wright (right)

ANAHEIM — This was not the same UCLA men’s basketball team that needed to come back in the closing seconds to sneak by Drexel.

Nor was it the same team that trailed winless Coppin State at halftime.

This was a Bruin team that finally played close to its potential for an entire 40 minutes, getting it done with stellar play from its guards and outstanding defense in a 67-56 victory over No. 17 Nevada in Saturday’s 12th annual John R. Wooden Classic.

“It was a big win against a good team,” point guard Jordan Farmar said. “Now we know we can do it.”

Prior to Saturday’s victory, the No. 16 Bruins (7-1) had shown only flashes of their ability in uninspiring wins over such teams as Delaware State, Albany and Coppin State. But with Farmar leading the charge against the Wolf Pack, things finally seemed to come together.

Farmar scored 24 points by shooting 10-for-13, and UCLA held Nevada (6-1) to a season-low 37.3 percent field-goal percentage, both of which had Bruin coach Ben Howland smiling after his team’s most impressive victory of the season.

“This was an outstanding win because we beat a really good team,” Howland said.

Winner of its last 14 road games, including a victory at Kansas earlier this month, Nevada appeared to offer some difficult match-ups for the Bruins, especially with star Nick Fazekas at the power forward spot.

And while Fazekas, who entered Saturday’s contest averaging 20.3 points per game, finished with 24, the Bruin defense was very effective for much of the game.

“UCLA is the best team we’ve played so far,” Fazekas said. “That’ll probably be the best team we see all year.”

Whenever the Bruins needed an answer on Saturday, Farmar had it. The sophomore point guard, who has been suffering the effects of an ankle injury for much of the season, engineered a 15-2 run in the first half and a 19-4 run in the second half that put the game away.

Twenty of Farmar’s 24 total points came during those runs.

“He’s a terrific point guard,” Nevada coach Mark Fox said of Farmar. “He took over the game, and that certainly was the difference.”

With the help of the big first half run, UCLA entered halftime with a 33-24 lead.

Nearly all of the Bruins’ points came from their guards, as Arron Afflalo (12), Darren Collison (10) and Farmar (9) combined to score 31 in the first half.

Fazekas, who saw double teams from the Bruins all night, helped bring the Wolf Pack within one point with 8:42 to play, but that’s when Farmar took over.

He had two 3-pointers, a lay-up, a floater in the lane, and a free throw in the decisive run.

“(Howland) called my number a few times tonight and I was just looking to be aggressive,” said Farmar, who said his right ankle is at about 90 percent. “The way they play defense, I had a lot of opportunities on the pick and roll.”

Afflalo turned in another solid game for the Bruins, contributing 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists without committing one turnover.

He also did a solid job on defense, holding Nevada guard Marcelus Kemp to 2-for-11 from the field.

“We won today because we did a great job defensively,” Howland said.

The Bruins won without three contributors from last season. Sophomore guard Josh Shipp is still out after undergoing hip surgery, while center Michael Fey and forward Lorenzo Mata were also in street clothes because of an ankle injury and a concussion, respectively.

Freshman forward Ryan Wright played a career-high 33 minutes Saturday, and fellow freshman forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute finished with eight points and nine rebounds. Mbah a Moute has led the Bruins in rebounding in all eight games.

Saturday, however, was a game for the guards.

Collison was an integral part of the first half run, Afflalo was his usual self, and Farmar was superb.

“You can really tell that people are starting to understand it,” Farmar said. “We’re just getting more fluid in our offense. Everyone is feeling more comfortable; we’re knocking down shots.

“It was just really happening all week, and we knew we were going to be ready to play.”