No. 2 Arizona Basketball uses second half surge to overpower UCLA

LAS VEGAS, NV – No. 2 Arizona Basketball (30-3, 18-2) used a strong second-half surge to overpower UCLA, winning the Pac-12 Conference Championship. 

It was an electric atmosphere as No. 2 Arizona Basketball took on conference rival No. 13 UCLA in Las Vegas with the Pac-12 Conference Championship on the line.

In front of a pro-Arizona crowd, the Wildcats had a battle on their hands as they took on a talented UCLA team, still without Kerr Kriisa. And coming in, the Bruins had been rolling too, winning eight of their last nine games, including five straight.

Falling behind by as many as 12 points, the Wildcats responded in a big way in the second half, rallying to beat the Bruins as they outscored UCLA 43-23 over the last 17:17 to play, winning 84-76.

Led behind the 27 points, four rebounds and seven assists from Benn Mathurin, Arizona ultimately proved to be too much for the Bruins as the Wildcats came away with the win.

Dalen Terry also came up big for the Cats, especially as Justin Kier and Pelle Larsson ran into foul trouble. Terry finished his evening scoring 15 points, dishing seven assists, and grabbing seven rebounds.

Weathering foul trouble and a strong UCLA start, No. 2 Arizona Basketball proved they are one of the best teams in the country, overpowering the Bruins.

Arizona would start the game hot, jumping out to a 10-4 lead over the first four minutes of play; however, the Wildcats would then run into some foul trouble in the first half that changed the complexity of this game.

The Bruins would then take advantage, taking the lead at 14-13, and even extended their lead to as many as six in the first half. Luckily, the Wildcats would stay tough, responding in a big way as they cut the Bruins’ lead down two with 30 seconds to play.

Unfortunately, UCLA’s Johnny Juzang would then hit a buzzer-beater to make it 40-35 in favor of the Bruins at the half.

Carrying over that momentum into the second half, UCLA would continue their strong play, opening the half on a 13-6 run to pull ahead by 12, their largest lead of the game.

Fortunately for us, Arizona would not panic, attacking at will and chipping away at the Bruins’ lead as they used a 15-2 run to pull ahead 56-55 with 12:03 to play.

The Bruins would regain the lead at 58-56 after a three from Jules Bernard, but that would be the last time the Bruins would lead in this one as the Wildcats’ defense hung tight, holding the Bruins to just 18 points over the final 11:04 to play.

Arizona would close out the game on a 28-18 run, eventually beating UCLA 84-76 to secure the Pac-12 Conference Championship in addition to their regular-season title.

So where does Arizona Basketball go from here?

With the win, Arizona improves to 31-3 (18-2) and now awaits their fate from the NCAA Tournament committee. The Wildcats will be guaranteed a No. 1 seed, the only question is where the Wildcats will be placed.

Listen to head coach Tommy Lloyd following the teams’ win!