No. 24 UCLA (9-1) edged past the University of Arizona (4-5) 57-54 at the Footprint Centre for their eighth-straight win Saturday, Dec. 14 .
Arizona was still without sophomore center Motiejus Krivas, who is out with a lower left leg injury and was spotted sitting courtside wearing a medical boot.
UCLA junior guard Skyy Clark was the clear offensive leader scoring 11 points in the first half while shooting 4-6 FG and 3-5 from three in the half. Clark finished the game with a season-high 15 points, second on the team.
The teams matched up in scoring in the first, and UCLA truly took the advantage with their defense, forcing 13 turnovers on the Wildcats in the first half alone. Defense beget offensive opportunities for the Bruins, who scored 16 points off turnovers.
The Wildcats clawed back with 10 unanswered points to take their first lead of the game since the early minutes 26-24 with 4:40 left in the first. Chants of “Beat LA” rang through the home Arizona crowd.
The Wildcats’ surge in scoring came after they began to put the pressure on the Bruins, forcing four turnovers in just over a minute. With the erosion of the UCLA lead, which was as high as eight at one point, the back and forth play of the beginning of the game returned.
UCLA reclaimed the lead 27-26 off senior guard Kobe Johnson’s layup that he got off his own offensive rebound with 2:43 in the half. The Bruins would finish the first half just ahead at 30-28, following a 5-2 run to edge past the WIldcats.
Arizona had a better FG% than the Bruins in the first half and dominated in the boards, doubling UCLA’s rebound total 16-8. The Bruin’s lost ground was made up on turnovers and beyond the arc, shooting 33% from three compared to Arizona’s 13%.
The Wildcats took the advantage 34-30 with 18:00 left in the second half with a 6-2 run to open the period. The half would be all Wildcats as they rose to take a 45-36 lead, the largest such lead for either team all game, at 12:06 in the second half and game. The Wildcats surged ahead with a 7-0 scoring run over two-and-a-half minutes.
UCLA’s shooting disappeared, with the Bruins shooting just 1-8 as the Wildcats stretched out their lead.
Arizona junior guard Jaden Bradley posted eight points in the second and led the Wildcats with 12 points overall.
The Bruins may have been down in the second half, but they were not out.
UCLA evaporated the Arizona lead with a 16-3 run that was capped off with a steal and layup by Bruins junior guard Dylan Andrews that tied the game 52-52 with 3:43 left.
Clark was fouled with 6.1 seconds left and a 55-54 UCLA lead. UCLA was 5-14 from the free-throw line before Clark’s trip. Clark sank both, putting UCLA up three with seconds to go.
Arizona sophomore guard KJ Lewis got the ball following the free throws and pulled up from three to try and tie the game for the Wildcats, but airballed, sealing UCLA’s comeback victory.
The win improves the Bruins to 9-1 on the season.
UCLA next plays at home, Tuesday, Dec. 17 against Prairie View A&M at 6:30 pm.