TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Oumar Ballo scored 16 points, Azuolas Tubelis had a double-double and No. 11 Arizona withstood a late rally to finish No. 5 UCLA’s 14-game winning streak with a 58-52 victory on Saturday.
The Wildcats (17-3, 5-3 Pac-12) seemed to be cruising to their biggest win of the season, taking a 56-44 lead on Ballo’s alley-oop dunk with 2:07 left.
The Bruins (17-3, 8-1) fought back, creating 4 straight turnovers to tug inside 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 shut it out. Tubelis triggered an 11-3 run to offer Arizona a 10-point early within the second half, ending with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
UCLA matched its longest winning streak since 2007-08 on Thursday by pulling away late to beat Arizona State 74-62. The Bruins had rather a lot more trouble with Arizona, particularly on the offensive end.
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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.
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 within the direction of Arizona fans while leaving the court.
On Saturday, the Bruins and Wildcats went toe to toe within the paint and perimeter, bodies bouncing off the ground in a physical, defensive afternoon. The Bruins banged on Ballo and Tubelis within the post on every touch, creating quite a few close-range misses — and lots of fouls.
UCLA backup big man Kenneth Nwuba had 4 fouls in the primary half and Ballo made 8 of 10 free throws to attain 12 first-half points.
Arizona hit 7 of 23 shots and was the better-shooting team, taking a 26-23 halftime lead.
UCLA: Pushed the Wildcats around early and created havoc with their defensive pressure late. In between, the Bruins didn’t hit enough shots to depart the desert with a win.
Arizona: Weathered UCLA’s bumping and banging in the primary half, then withstood a furious rally to earn the sort of win that ought to move it back into the highest 10.
UCLA: At rival USC on Thursday.
Arizona: Plays at Washington State on Thursday.
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