PHILADELPHIA — Rollie Massimino sat on the edge of his seat, rooting on his former team from behind the bench. By the end, he was leaning back in his chair and soaking it in.

No need to sweat this one out, Coach. The Wildcats had it all the way.

Dante Cunningham scored 18 points yesterday, helping Villanova reach the round of 16 for the fourth time in five years with an 89-69 victory over UCLA that ended the Bruins' bid for a fourth straight Final Four appearance.

"That was a fun game to be a part of," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "We have so much respect for the UCLA tradition. They are tough. To get to three straight Final Fours is amazing. You get fired up to play a team like that."

Corey Fisher and Reggie Redding each had 13 points for the third-seeded Wildcats (28-7), who will play Duke in the East Region semifinals in Boston.

Josh Shipp led UCLA with 18 points and Darren Collison had 15. It's the earliest exit for the sixth-seeded Bruins (26-9) since a first-round loss in the 2005 NCAA tournament.

"They did a good job spreading us out and they're a very good shooting team," Bruins coach Ben Howland said. "They did a good job of attacking the rim. I think they have a real chance to move forward in this tournament."

Backed by a raucous, hometown crowd at its off-campus home, Villanova jumped on UCLA early. A 19-2 run that started five minutes in put the Wildcats ahead 28-11 before the midpoint of the first half.

When Corey Stokes hit a 3-pointer to cap an 11-0 spurt, the building erupted. Even some Texas A&M fans stood and cheered. The Aggies played Connecticut in the second game of the doubleheader.

UCLA finally ended the run after a time-out, but Stokes hit another 3 and Redding nailed one, too. Dwayne Anderson's jam capped the run, giving Villanova a 17-point lead.

"We kind of jumped on them and set the tone early," Fisher said. "That was huge. We always say it's about 40 minutes of basketball. We didn't want to let up when we got a lead. I don't think we did. We had a lot of intensity from the start of the game to the end."

Villanova led 44-31 at halftime, allowing the usually intense Massimino to relax a bit.

Massimino coached Villanova to an upset of Georgetown in the 1985 national championship game. He gave Wright a big hug shortly before tip-off and enthusiastically watched from his second-row seat.

"He's always telling me to be loose, lighten up, love them up and let them go," Wright said of Massimino's advice. "I worked with him seven years. He wasn't like that. He's kinder and gentler now."