Final Arizona Men’s Basketball vs. UCLA: The Wildcats blow a 13-point second-half lead in a loss to the 24th-ranked Bruins

PHOENIX – When Arizona doesn’t turn the ball over, good things often happen. But when that happens, and against the best turnover team in the country, bad things can – and did – happen.

The Wildcats committed 22 turnovers that led to 27 points and blew a 13-point second-half lead to lose 57-54 to No. 24 UCLA on Saturday afternoon at the Footprint Center. It was the UA’s first loss in Phoenix since 1942 and dropped them back under .500 at 4-5 on the season.

In front of one very Partisan crowd that included Mike Bibby, Terry Francona And Kevin Ginkel, the UA, went 8:46 into the final without a field goal, managed just three free throws in that span and led 49-36 with 10:49 left before everything that could go wrong ended.

Arizona was just 6 of 18 from the field in the second half and shot 45.2 percent for the game, while UCLA (9-1) shot 45.1 percent. Only 13 of the Bruins’ 23 field goals didn’t come after the UA lost the ball.

Former Oregon State forward Tyler Bilodeau scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half, including six in the game-winning 11-0 run. Arizona was led by Jaden Bradleywho had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Trey Townsend had 10.

Arizona trailed 30-28 at halftime despite shooting better than 50 percent, and its 13 turnovers led to 16 UCLA points. A 3 from Caleb Loveafter missing one a few seconds earlier, a 6-0 run from the locker room put the UA back in the lead.

Love was 3 of 10 from the field and had seven points.

The Wildcats picked up seven fouls in the first six minutes of the second half, got into the bonus and made 9 of 10 free throws to take a 42-34 lead with 14:04 left. UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. He suffered his third and fourth fouls in that span.

A 13-2 run gave Arizona a 49-36 lead with 10:49 left before turnovers began to surface again, as four turnovers in three minutes allowed UCLA to get back within single digits. Afterwards the lead was still 52:44 KJ Lewis He hit a free throw with 7:01 minutes left, but what followed was a five-minute disaster for the Wildcats.

The UA missed its last seven shots, including two ill-advised 3-point attempts Henri Veesaarand also scored three more times, with UCLA scoring one apiece during an 11-0 run to take a 55-52 lead with 1:42 left.

Two free throws from Lewis made it a 1-point game with 1:20 left, and Arizona forced a long three-pointer with less than 10 seconds left from UCLA Skyy Clarkwho had 15 points, grabbed the offensive rebound with 6.1 seconds left and made two free throws.

Lewis’ attempt to equalize fell wide of the target at the other end. The Wildcats were 2 of 16 from three.

After scoring on its first two possessions, Arizona turned it over three straight times and UCLA capitalized each time, setting the tone for the afternoon. The Bruins also got some unexpected perimeter scoring from the junior guard Clark, who averaged 4.9 points per game but made three three-pointers in the first nine minutes and had 11 of his first 16 points.

Midway through the first half, UCLA built a 24-16 lead and held it for several minutes before Arizona flipped the script and began converting Bruin mistakes into points. A 10-0 run that included three dunks and six turnovers gave the Wildcats a 26-24 lead with 4:03 left in the first half.

The lead changed three times as the half progressed, with UCLA leading by two at the break.

Arizona returns home for its final two non-conference games, starting with Wednesday’s game against Samford.