UCLA 84, Arizona 73
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Shabazz Muhammad scored 22 points and Jordan Adams and David Wear added 15 apiece as UCLA upset No. 6 Arizona, 84-73, in a Pac-12 game at McKale Center on Thursday night.
The win was the Bruins' first true road victory over a ranked team since 2008.
UCLA scored 19 of the first 22 points and still led by as many as 14 points with 13 minutes remaining in the second half before Arizona staged a comeback, getting to within six points on Nick Johnson's short drive with 3:58 remaining.
Adams made Larry Drew II make four of UCLA's 10 free throws down the stretch to keep the Wildcats from duplicating their miracle comeback against Colorado, when they won in overtime after trailing by 10 points with 1:55 remaining in regulation three weeks ago.
Nick Johnson tied a season high with 23 points for Arizona, which shot only 38.4 percent from the field and made only 5-of-24 three-point attempts. UCLA shot 47.8 percent.
UCLA (16-4, 6-1) moved within a half-game No. 16 Oregon in the Pac-12, while Arizona (16-2, 4-2) dropped into a third-place tie with Washington.
Mark Lyons had 16 points and Solomon Hill had 13, but both Johnson and Lyons fouled out down the stretch.
UCLA's freshmen were not intimidated in their first visit to McKale Center in the early going.
The Bruins raced to a 19-3 lead as the Wildcats missed 12 of their first 13 shots from the field. Muhammad had seven points and Adams had six in the early run, when the only basket Arizona could score was Lyons' driving layup a little more than three minutes into the game. UCLA made 10 of its first 15 shots from the field.
Johnson scored six points in an 8-2 Arizona to close the gap to 21-11, and Lyons' 3-pointer from the left wing brought the Wildcats within six at 31-25 with 4:30 remaining in the half. Johnson's 3-pointer from the left baseline made it 35-30 before Drew's layup with 1:48 stretched the lead.
It was 40-30 at halftime on Kyle Anderson's 3-point play with 40 seconds left.
NOTES: Muhammad was back in the starting lineup after being held out for the first seven minutes in a 76-67 loss to No. 16 Oregon on Saturday because he was a late for a team function before the game. Muhammad is averaging 17.4 points overall, 15.0 in conference play. ... Arizona has won 12 of the last 16 meetings at McKale Center between the teams. ... Arizona has outrebounded 14 of its first 17 opponents. ... UCLA last played a true road game against a ranked opponent on Dec. 20, 2010, losing 77-76 at Kansas. The Bruins' most recent road victory against a ranked team came in Feb. 17, 2008, at Washington State.
