No. 11 Arizona ends No. 5 UCLA’s 14-game win streak
TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona spent the first half banging bodies with UCLA and the closing seconds desperately trying to hang on against the Bruins’ press.
Even through that, the Wildcats kept their composure and came out with what may be their most impressive win of the season.
Oumar Ballo scored 16 points, Azuolas Tubelis had a double-double and No. 11 Arizona withstood a late rally to end No. 5 UCLA’s 14-game winning streak with a 58-52 victory on Saturday.
“You’ve got to you got to be able to win multiple ways,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “Other than that last minute while we were trying to ride out that lead, I think we were comfortable the whole time, which is a good sign.”
The Wildcats (17-3, 5-3 Pac12) appeared to be cruising to victory, taking a 56-44 lead on Ballo’s alley-oop dunk with 2:07 left.
The Bruins (17-3, 8-1) fought back, creating four straight turnovers to pull within 56-52. UCLA then blocked consecutive shots — one after a review waved off goaltending — but couldn’t convert on two shots of its own.
Arizona’s Pelle Larsson hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds to close it out. Tubelis triggered an 11-3 run to give Arizona a 10-point early in the second half, and finished with with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“I think we proved today that we can win low-scoring,” said Arizona point guard Kerr Kriisa, who had seven points. “Everyone keeps talking about our offense, our offense, our offense, but nobody realizes how good our defense is.”
The Bruins do. UCLA matched its longest winning streak since 2007-08 on Thursday by pulling away late to beat Arizona State 74-62. The Bruins had a lot more trouble with Arizona, particularly at the offensive end.
UCLA shot 31% and went 4 of 20 from 3-point range to lose as a top-5 team at McKale Center for the second straight season. Tyger Campbell led the Bruins with 13 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 12 with 11 rebounds.
“When you struggle offensively, something with the other team’s defense caused it,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “Even if it’s open shots, they got you sped up just enough, rattled just enough, so you have to give the other team credit.”
Arizona beat then-No. 3 UCLA last season in a charged atmosphere that included an assault citation for UCLA forward Mac Etienne after he appeared to spit in the direction of Arizona fans while leaving the court.