LOS ANGELES — In a battle of perennial powers, the UCLA men’s basketball team struggled on offense and defense and suffered an 88-65 loss in its penultimate Pac-12 home game against fifth-ranked Arizona on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins had won five in a row at home against Arizona, but the Wildcats took over after the game was tied three times in the opening minutes. UCLA, drowned out by “U of A” chants, trailed 44-27 by halftime.
UCLA did not fair much better in the second half of the nationally televised game. Arizona picked up where it left off, opening with a 15-6 run, including six points by Oumar Ballo, who dunked twice. Pelle Larsson and Ballo hit back-to-back 3-pointers in extending the lead to 59-33. Arizona (24-6 overall, 15-4 Pac-12) led by as much as 28 on its way to clinching its final Pac-12 regular-season title.
The Wildcats got some help in the Pacific Northwest, where Washington defeated second-place Washington State, 74-68. Arizona is headed to the Big 12 next season, while the Bruins are bound for the Big Ten.
UCLA (14-16, 9-10) is on a five-game losing streak and could finish below .500 for the first time since 2010. The Bruins need to beat Arizona State on Saturday to head into the Pac-12 tournament with even a modicum of momentum. They’ll have to play a first-round game in Las Vegas next week, regardless.
Junior guard Lazar Stefanovic scored 20 points, including five 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Dylan Andrews scored 11 of his 18 points in the first half. Foul-prone sophomore Adem Bona scored 10 points in the first half but was 0 for 1 from the field in the second half. He added a team-high five rebounds and five blocked shots.
Freshman guard KJ Lewis led Arizona with 18 points. Senior guard Caleb Love had 17 points. Sophomore guard Jaden Bradley had 13 points. Senior guard Pelle Larsson had 12 points. Sophomore guard Kylan Boswell had 10 points. Senior forward Keshad Johnson added seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The Wildcats shot 51.9% from the field, including 39.1% from 3-point range.
The Wildcats trailed by 19 against the Bruins at home in January before rallying to win, 77-71. UCLA couldn’t turn the tables at home and never put together a sustained run in the second half.
Bona energized the Bruins early with an unsuspecting dribble drive that began outside the 3-point line and ended with a huge slam dunk. Andrews followed that with a nice crossover, which set up his mid-range jumper to put UCLA ahead, 8-7.
However, Arizona led 22-17 with 7:38 left in the first half, partly because the Bruins only made seven of their first 20 attempts from the field. A 3-pointer by Boswell extended Arizona’s lead to 27-17, but back-to-back baskets by Andrews and freshman guard Sebastian Mack (seven points) cut Arizona’s lead to 27-21. The Bruins trailed by double digits for the first time at 34-23.
Andrews and Bona scored 21 of the team’s 27 first-half points, but the Bruins shot just 35.5% from the field (11 for 31), including 1 for 6 from 3-point range.
Stefanovic’s three-point play cut the margin to 47-32 with 18:38 left in the second half, but Arizona responded with a 12-1 run over the next three minutes to reach its 59-33 cushion.
The Bruins never pulled back within 20 points.
UP NEXT
UCLA will host Arizona State on Saturday at 8 p.m.