The 2006-07 season for the Washington basketball season could be remembered for its maddening inconsistencies that saw the team end with a losing record in Pac-10 play.

With the Huskies (18-12 overall, 8-10 Pac-10) pulling off an unlikely win against No. 2 UCLA Saturday at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, the regular season has at least ended on a positive note. Battling a tough, defensive-minded opponent, the Huskies were the ones who shut down UCLA's shooters and pulled off the win, 61-51.

The Bruins (26-4 overall, 15-3 Pac-10) never led. They never pulled even with Washington, either, and for the most part were ineffective offensively, shooting 31.3 percent (20-of-64) from the floor.

"They (the Huskies) did a great job defensively," said UCLA's Josh Shipp, who led his team with 13 points. "We missed a lot of shots — had a lot of in and outs — but that had a lot to do with their defense."

At three different times in the game, the Bruins were held scoreless for stretches of five minutes or more.

Two of those runs came in the first half. The first opened the game, and lasted until Russell Westbrook scored at the 14:04 mark. The second started after a pair of Lorenzo Mata free- throws with 5:51 remaining in the half and continued until the end of the first period. The 20 points UCLA scored by the break was its lowest total for a half all season.

"You have to hand it to Washington, they really took it to us today," said UCLA coach Ben Howland. "They out-rebounded us by 15, they defended us to where we only shot 31 percent, and they were outstanding inside."

Despite the offensive struggles of the Bruins, though, they did make their run. After trailing by as many 16, Shipp and Arron Afflalo led their team back on a 19-4 run, capped by a Darren Collison 3-point shot that cut the lead to one.

"Once they made a little run, we were able to seal it off," said sophomore Jon Brockman. "We just made sure we were on the same page. We were still ahead. We didn't need to panic. We just needed to know how they made the run. They made some big shots. Arron hit some big ones, and so did Josh. We just made the adjustments and it worked out."

Once again it came down to the efforts of the Washington big men to stop the run. Freshman Spencer Hawes tipped in a shot to put the team up by three. Brockman then made four- straight free-throws to put the game out of reach.

"Jon Brockman and Spencer Hawes were just beasts tonight," said coach Lorenzo Romar. "Twin beasts out there on the floor."

Brockman recorded yet another double double — No. 14 on the season — with a game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds. Hawes was equally effective, scoring 13 points, grabbing 15 boards and blocking five shots.

"We're hard to deal with on our own," Hawes said. "As a tandem, we make each other better. When we can play off each other like that it makes us more effective."

Offensively, the Huskies received a double-digit effort from junior Ryan Appleby — who had 13 — but it was on the defensive end that they made their mark. Tasked with shutting down Afflalo and Collison — UCLA's most dangerous scorers — they did just that, holding them to 4-of-14 and 2-of-15 shooting respectively.

"We knew it was going to take a Herculean effort to come out and be successful against UCLA," Romar said. "I can't say how proud I am of our guys, how we competed. We've had our struggles, had our ups and downs. Perhaps, things are coming together for us. I wish there was another three or four weeks in the regular season, but it is what it is, we need to do our best to carry that momentum into next week."

Reach reporter Justin Chartrey at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.