Colorado just wouldn’t go away.
The Buffs (10-6, 0-3 Pac-12), who dropped their first three conference games, pushed the Bruins around in the first half of Thursday night’s game.
But No. 4 UCLA (16-1, 3-1 Pac-12) had the slight 51-45 edge heading into the locker room despite all four of their bigs picking up two fouls.
Forward TJ Leaf, who averages 17.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, headed to the bench with 16 minutes to play after picking up his second personal foul.
Sophomore Aaron Holiday subbed in for the freshman and finished with 10 points at the half, shooting 2-of-3 from long range.
Four different players, including Holiday, made two each from beyond the arc, often stopping Colorado’s momentum when the Buffs cut into the lead.
By halftime, UCLA was shooting 61 percent from beyond the arc with freshman Lonzo Ball sinking shots from NBA range.
The Bruins outshot the Buffaloes overall 54 percent to 41 percent, but the Buffs’ rebounding kept them in the game.
Although that was the focus of UCLA’s practice this week, they still gave up 23 to the home team – 10 offensive rebounds extended the possessions and led to nine second chance points for the Buffs.
The Bruins only had three offensive rebounds for five points.