UCLA men’s basketball trails Arizona 32-18 at halftime
By Matt Joye
Feb. 21, 2015 7:10 p.m.
TUSCON, Ariz. — Steve Alford couldn’t have scripted the opening minutes of UCLA’s matchup with No. 7 Arizona if he had written them himself.
The rest of the half, not so much.
After hanging with, and even leading, the nation’s No. 7 team by as many as seven points, UCLA trails Arizona 32-18 at the break.
Sophomore guard Bryce Alford led the Bruins with 11 points on 4-7 shooting while the rest of the team combined to shoot 1-13.
UCLA did its best to silence a raucous sellout crowd by forcing four turnovers and attacking inside in the opening 3:30 en route to building a quick 7-0 lead.
After a dismal effort in the paint against Arizona State on Wednesday, UCLA’s defense inside was spectacular early on, forcing Arizona to settle for contested jump shots. The Wildcats missed their first seven shots and didn’t score for the opening 6:05 minutes of play before freshman center Dusan Ristic knocked in a pair of free throws.
However, UCLA failed to capitalize on Arizona’s cold spell, as the Bruins didn’t score a point for more than five minutes following their initial outburst, which allowed the Wildcats to claw their way back in. After a jumper from junior guard Gabe York found home, Arizona claimed its first lead of the game at 11-10 with 10:42 left in the half.
That lead grew to a high of 14 as the Bruins – outside of Bryce Alford – remained cold from the field.
As Arizona’s lead increased, so did UCLA’s sloppiness as the Bruins committed seven turnovers in the first period.
As was the case with the Sun Devils, the Bruins again found themselves battling foul trouble as junior forward/center Tony Parker entered the half with three fouls while freshman forwards Kevon Looney and Gyorgy Goloman had two and three, respectively.
Ristic led all scorers with 12 points and was a perfect 4-4 from the field.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
