LAHAINA, Maui — When the shots aren't falling, UCLA guard Arron Afflalo's theory is you keep pulling the trigger.

His teammates subscribed to the junior guard's philosophy as the Bruins hoisted shots from the perimeter and behind the arc early, combining the effort with a 33-31 rebounding edge and 58 percent shooting from the field.

The Yellow Jackets jumped to an early 4-0 lead but never led again as the Bruins unleashed superior speed and perimeter shooting to rout the Yellow Jackets, 88-73, in the championship game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center

It was the first Maui championship in three tries for the Bruins, who finished sixth in 1995 and third in 2001.

"That was a very gratifying win because we beat a real good team. They're very good, they're a young team and I would not want to see them again this year or next year in March," said UCLA coach Ben Howland.

"I love our team because they're so unselfish. At the end of the day we're just marching forward one day at a time. This is a hard, hard place to play. We're going to take the next two days off and enjoy a Hawaiian vacation."

After missing his first two 3-point attempts Afflalo finished with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting to lead all scorers and finished second in the tournament with a 19.3 points per game.

"I just play hard and try to help this team win championships," Afflalo said.

The Bruins built a 17-point lead with 3:49 to play in the first half, which finished with UCLA up by 11. The Bruins opened the second half with a 15-4 run as the Yellow Jackets managed only three field goals in the first 10 minutes.

The few shots that didn't fall for the Bruins were cleaned up by forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who was 7 for 7 from the field to finish with 14 points and seven rebounds. In all, four Bruins finished in double figures, including guard Darren Collison, who had 15 points and seven assists, and was named tournament MVP.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.