This post was updated Jan. 21 at 4 p.m.
No. 14 Arizona beat No. 3 UCLA at its own game in the first half, shooting 7-of-12 from behind the 3-point line while holding the Bruins to just 3-of-14.
But you can only keep prodding a hibernating bear for so long before it wakes up.
Down by as many as 14 minutes into the second half, UCLA made its push. Senior guard Isaac Hamilton – who didn’t score a single point in the first – began aggressively attacking the basket and scored 12 points in the first 11 minutes.
The Bruins crawled back within striking distance, cutting the deficit to two with 11:28 left in the game.
But that was as far as they could go. The defense was still nonexistent and the Wildcats began imposing their will on the game again. They slowed the game back down to a halt and their suffocating half-court defense forced three turnovers.
“We responded in the second half offensively, so it wasn’t so much our offense – we scored 85 points,” said coach Steve Alford. “It was not being able to string together any type of rhythm defensively and get stops so we can get out in transition.”
All of a sudden it was back to a double-digit game with seven to play and UCLA (19-2, 6-2 Pac-12) couldn’t make one last push in a 96-85 loss to Arizona (18-2, 7-0).
Freshman guard Lonzo Ball did as much as he could, scoring a career-high 24 points, handing out eight assists and grabbing six rebounds. Ball also added two steals and a block on defense.
“It was a big game,” Ball said. “Usually in big games, coach wants me to be aggressive.”
However, the Bruins just couldn’t string together enough stops or keep the Wildcats off the offensive glass. Arizona shot 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3s, while still managing to grab 12offensive rebounds.
“We just got to talk more,” said senior guard Bryce Alford. “That’s the biggest thing – just being able to hear that somebody is there. Sometimes we get a little quiet on that end and it hurts us.”
In the battle of the No. 1 defense versus the No. 1 offense in the Pac-12, the immovable force won.
The explosive UCLA offense shot just 45.1 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from 3s – not enough when you allow Arizona to score a season-high 96 points.