Field Level Media
Mar 1, 2020
Tyger Campbell's only made field goal of the game gave UCLA its first lead of the second half with 49 seconds left -- a lead it did not relinquish -- in a 69-64 win over Arizona on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
UCLA (19-11, 12-5 Pac-12) led for just 3:24, but the Bruins went ahead at the most crucial juncture on Campbell's runner under duress.
The win is UCLA's seventh straight -- and ninth in 10 games -- putting the Bruins alone in first place by a half game over Oregon in the Pac-12. Their hot streak helped pull the Bruins out of the conference basement, where they resided after the first four games of league play.
Arizona (19-10, 9-7) jumped out to a 15-7 lead and took a six-point lead into halftime when a missed Jalen Hill dunk turned into a Max Hazzard basket at the other end.
The Wildcats maintained their edge in the second half behind Nico Mannion's game-high 19 points and six assists, but they failed to push the lead past nine points.
Arizona coach Sean Miller was ejected after receiving his second technical foul midway through the second half. The Wildcats went on a scoring drought of 3:40 shortly after.
In a sequence in which Arizona grabbed two offensive rebounds, Hazzard knocked down a 3-pointer that put the Wildcats ahead 60-56 with 4:49 to go. Zeke Nnaji, who finished with 16 points despite spending much of the second half in foul trouble, pushed the lead to four again on a putback dunk with 3:44 remaining.
But UCLA began a game-ending 11-2 run after both teams went scoreless for the next 1:32. Chris Smith scored a pair of buckets, including a 15-foot jumper over Hazzard, part of his team-high 17 points.
Smith's two baskets set the stage for Campbell's pivotal basket. Arizona committed three turnovers in the final 1:39.
Jaime Jaquez Jr., who hit the game-winning 3-pointer to beat Arizona State on Thursday, scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for UCLA. Cody Riley added another 11 points.
--Field Level Media