This post was updated Dec. 14 at 9:02 p.m.

The Bruins were down 13 points in the second half – on the verge of dropping their second game of the season. 

But to the rescue came Tyler Bilodeau. 

Thanks to the junior forward’s 17-point performance – 12 of which came in the second half – the Bruins snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. In the rivalry’s first edition since both schools left the Pac-12, No. 24 UCLA men’s basketball (9-1) defeated Arizona (4-5) by a score of 57-54 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. 

“Not a thing of beauty, we kept fouling, but our defense was able to start creating some turnovers,” said coach Mick Cronin. “That was the difference in the game.”

Though the Wildcats averaged 11.6 turnovers per game entering the affair, the Bruins – the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense – forced 22 turnovers and recorded 10 steals while holding Arizona without a field goal over the last 8:46 of play. 

Behind back-to-back 3-pointers from junior guard Skyy Clark – who finished with a season-high 15 points – the Bruins reached a 20-12 lead early in the first half.

“He’s probably our smartest player,” Cronin said of Clark. “I was happy for him – obviously had a big game today.”

The Bruins would regain their eight-point edge when sophomore guard Sebastian Mack’s layup made it 24-16. But that margin would soon evaporate. 

A slam dunk from forward Carter Bryant tied the game at 24 apiece. And his second awarded  the Wildcats a two-point lead – their first advantage since being up 3-0 – and took the team into a media timeout on a 10-0 run. 

With the rest of the half proving to be a nip-and-tuck affair, the Bruins entered the locker room up 30-28. 

Similarly, though, that lead also wouldn’t last long.

The Wildcats sprung to a 32-30 advantage on guard Caleb Love’s 3-pointer and soon had a nine-point lead of their own at 43-34, when Cronin was forced to call a timeout. 

Arizona catapulted to a 49-36 lead before Bilodeau emerged for 10 of UCLA’s next 12 points. After a previously scoreless afternoon, junior guard Dylan Andrews joined the party with his only four points of the affair, tying the game at 52. 

Sophomore guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. gave the Bruins the lead on a free throw before Bilodeau drilled a dagger on a jump shot, part of UCLA’s 17-3 run to close out the game. 

“I’m just really proud of these guys,” Clark said. “Kobe (senior guard Kobe Johnson) was a big reason for that. In the huddles, timeouts, deadballs – he was telling us not to give up. … That energy, it’s infectious.”

But while the Bruins pulled out victory, it was a triumph far from spotless. 

Outside of Bilodeau and Clark, the rest of the UCLA lineup finished with just 25 points, with no one eclipsing double digits. The Bruins also struggled from deep and at the charity stripe, going just 4-for-21 and 7-for-16, respectively, while allowing Arizona to shoot 45.2% from the field. 

“We could have lost this game,” Cronin said. “Both teams played really hard – it was an ugly game. … I’m pissed off about our offense, but Arizona’s got a lot to do with that. Sometimes, the opponent is the problem.”

As the Bruins’ schedule continues to toughen – with dates set against North Carolina and No. 8 Gonzaga – questions surrounding their offensive potency, ranked 138th in the nation by points per game, continue to swirl.