PULLMAN — When it was all said and done, 29,310 fans at Martin Stadium breathed sighs of relief. On a night that saw just about every officiating call go against Washington State, the Cougars finally caught a break when it mattered most.

With 2:43 left in the game and UCLA trailing by six points, Bruins quarterback Mike Fafaul hit Jordan Lasley, who picked up 13 yards before he was hit by WSU linebacker Dylan Hanser.

The ball popped out of Lasley’s hands, but the officials initially ruled that the receiver was down before he lost control of the ball.

The fans booed lustily. The home team had already had two touchdowns called back, and this looked to be yet another tough luck call that could jeopardize what once appeared to be a win already in hand.

Then, reprieve. Upon review, the play was ruled a UCLA fumble that was recovered by WSU safety Robert Taylor. The Cougars’ offense trotted back on the field, and even though they couldn’t move the ball, a 38-yard punt by Kyle Sweet pushed the Bruins back to their 2-yard line, and an interception by Charleston White sealed the Cougars’ 27-21 win.

“I think this was too close,” said linebacker Peyton Pelluer, who tied Hercules Mata’afa for the team lead with seven tackles. “I think they scored too many points in the fourth quarter. We pride ourselves on being a fourth-quarter defense, so we kinda let the team down on that.

“But it’s a team win and we finished. We got the win and that’s what it’s all about.”

It was an unconventional win by WSU standards.

For the first time in his WSU career, quarterback Luke Falk left a game without throwing a single touchdown. Instead, the Cougars rode a stiff defensive performance that featured a season-high four turnovers, and a 95-yard, three-rushing touchdown effort from their three running backs to hold on and win a crucial game that kept them in the race for a Pac-12 title.

The win gave WSU its first back-to-back victories against UCLA since the 2006-07 season and moved the Cougars into a tie for first place with the Huskies in the Pac-12 North.

WSU (4-2 overall, 3-0 Pac-12) looked like the dominant team through three quarters, especially with UCLA’s Mike Fafaul making his first career start at quarterback in place of an injured Josh Rosen.

Fafaul struggled in the beginning, but finished 24 of 40 for 258 yards and two interceptions, with two of his three touchdown passes coming in the fourth quarter to keep the Bruins in the thick of things until White’s interception.

“You could say that there was a lack of focus (from WSU), but they’re allowed to make plays too,” Pelluer said. “Props to them. They capitalized. Their quarterback did a great job and I commend them for fighting to the end.”

The Cougars appeared to have put UCLA away when, with a little under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Jamal Morrow scored from three yards out to give WSU a 24-7 lead.

The Bruins came roaring back though, and Fafaul hit Lasley for a 5-yard touchdown WSU. The Cougars’ offense ended the game the way it had started — by sputtering on offense, unable to finish drives.

Lucky for them, kicker Erik Powell — who’s started the season a dismal 0-for-5 — picked this game to shake out of his slump. Powell converted two 36-yard field goals, putting up six points that proved to be the difference in the score.

“I thought he kicked really well,” WSU football coach Mike Leach said. “He looked really good out there today.”

Throughout the first quarter in a relentless downpour, the Cougars’ offense struggled to get going.

Washington State spent almost the entire first quarter on UCLA’s half of the field, a period that featured a mix of good defense and non-existent offense from both teams.

The good in the messy opening quarter: a forced fumble by WSU linebacker Dylan Hanser that was recovered by Pelluer and four tackles for loss from a fired up Cougar defense that held UCLA to nine rushing yards in the first half.

The bad: A Luke Falk interception at the goal line, and a bunch of misfires and penalties from WSU’s offense, whose best shot at a touchdown came when River Cracraft appeared to catch a 21-yard pass from Falk in the right corner of the end zone.

Even though Cracraft looked to have gotten both feet down in the end zone as he fell out of bounds, the officials ruled the play an incomplete pass and upheld the ruling after a challenge from an indignant Mike Leach.

WSU settled for a 36-yard field goal — the first of two Powell would make.

“We tried to make too much happen a little bit early,” said Leach, whose offense put up 356 yards. “Sometimes we scored, sometimes we didn’t. But we did march up and down the field.”

In the second quarter, that same malfunctioning offense that couldn’t gain a yard on fourth-and-1 on the opening drive somehow managed to put together an 18-play, 91-yard drive that ate up 7:08 of the clock. The Cougars’ scored on a 1-yard touchdown run from Wicks, who had nine carries for 24 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

The Bruins tried to make it a game in the third quarter when Fafaul connected with Darren Andrews on a 22-yard touchdown pass to make the score WSU 10, UCLA 7.

Cracraft chose that juncture to pick up right where he’d left off in his 7 reception, 130-yard performance the week before, making an acrobatic left-handed grab that was good for 21 yards and triggered a drive that ended with Wicks’ 1-yard touchdown run.

“I thought we improved on all sides of the ball,” Leach said. “But I thought we could have been more in sync on offense.”