The first 44 seconds were perfect; the remaining 19:16 of the first half was a battle.
UCLA men’s basketball scored two straight baskets and forced a turnover in the opening minute but had to fight the rest of the half, as it leads Arizona State 36-32 at halftime.
After an Arizona State timeout in the opening minute, the Sun Devils quickly regained its footing and took a 11-6 lead.
UCLA fought back to tie the game at 11, then took the lead with a corner three from sophomore guard Isaac Hamilton. The Bruins followed that with a steal from freshman forward Kevon Looney and a jump shot by Hamilton to complete a 10-0 run and take a 16-11 lead.
Sun Devil foward Shaq McKissic had a 3-pointer blocked by senior guard Norman Powell but McKissic recovered the deflection and buried his next 3-point attempt to just UCLA’s lead to four. On the other end, sophomore guard Bryce Alford immediately responded by hitting a three of his own from the left corner.
A few minutes later, McKissic once again cut into the Bruins lead, hitting a lay up in transition despite being fouled and converting on the free throw attempt. UCLA led 26-21 with around seven minutes to play.
The Bruins built that lead to 10 after several minutes, converting on a string of Sun Devil turnovers and hitting several free throws. That comfortable lead quickly evaporated, however, as a pair of and-ones for ASU brought the Sun Devils within four with around two minutes to play.
Under a minute later, Arizona State cut that deficit down to just one, as Sun Devil guard Tra Holder hit a 3-pointer to make it a 33-32 game. Looney quickly responded with a three to give UCLA slightly more cushion heading into halftime.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff