No. 24 UCLA fights back from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat Arizona 57-54

PHOENIX — Tyler Bilodeau scored 17 points, Skyy Clark added 15 and No. 24 UCLA rallied from a 13-point deficit midway through the second half to beat Arizona 57-54 on Saturday.

UCLA won its eighth straight game, shaking off a poor afternoon of shooting. Bilodeau was decisive down the stretch, making 6 of 12 shots from various mid-range and post moves. Clark grabbed an offensive rebound with eight seconds left, was immediately fouled and then made two free throws for the final lead.

Arizona’s KJ Lewis missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Arizona opened the second half with a 21-6 run and took a 49-36 lead with 10:49 left after Jaden Bradley made two layups on consecutive possessions. Bradley led the Wildcats with 12 points.

UCLA shot just 2 of 11 from the field and 2 of 6 free throws in the first 10 minutes of the second half. But the Bruins slowly recovered and Dylan Andrews made a layup with 3:35 left to make it 52-0.

For the first time since 1978, the longtime rivals met in downtown Phoenix as members of different conferences.

Takeaways

UCLA: The Bruins fought back with a tough second-half performance. Bilodeau was fantastic down the stretch and provided some much-needed offense.

Arizona: The Wildcats just aren’t scoring very efficiently, especially because preseason All-America selection Caleb Love is in a shooting slump.

Key moment

Bilodeau hit a short jumper with 1:42 left to give UCLA a 55-52 lead.

Key statistics

UCLA was giving up just 55.1 points per game entering the game, ranking first in college basketball.

Next

UCLA hosts Prairie View A&M on Tuesday. Arizona hosts Samford on Wednesday.

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