Moses Brown may have lost the opening tip to 6-foot-7-inch Ira Lee, but he bounced back.

The freshman center recorded seven points, eight rebounds, two blocks and one steal to lead UCLA men’s basketball (10-9, 3-3 Pac-12) to a 38-25 halftime lead over Arizona (14-6, 5-2) in Pauley Pavilion. Brown was the Bruins’ third leading scorer and shot 50 percent from the field.

UCLA shot 50 percent as a team in the first frame, while Arizona shot just 23.5 percent. Only one Wildcat had over five points, while the Bruins had three – Brown and sophomore guards Kris Wilkes and Jaylen Hands.

Hands led UCLA with nine points and three assists. Hands’ highlight of the half was when the guard finished a one-handed dunk with contact with 1:53 remaining to put the Bruins up by 15.

Wilkes scored eight points on 4-of-7 shooting, while both freshman guard David Singleton and redshirt junior guard Prince Ali hit catch-and-shoot 3-pointers to swing momentum in the Bruins’ favor.

Both UCLA and Arizona lost Thursday night, and both are fighting to avoid a Pac-12 weekend sweep.

The 1968-1969 UCLA men’s basketball team was honored at halftime for the 50 year anniversary of its championship season. NBA all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lynn Shackelford were among the former Bruins in attendance.

Published by Sam Connon

Connon is the Sports editor and a writer for the football and men's basketball beats. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the baseball, men's soccer, women's golf, men's golf and cross country beats. Connon currently contributes movie reviews for Arts & Entertainment as well. He was previously a reporter for the women's basketball and baseball beats. Connon is a third-year communications major from Winchester, Massachusetts.

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