National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Arizona 79, UCLA 75
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 9, 2014
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California
Officials: # Verne Harris, # John Higgings, # Tom O'Neill
Attendance: 13283

No. 1 Arizona 79, No. 25 UCLA 75: Nick Johnson scored 22 points as the visiting Wildcats matched their best start in school history despite blowing a late lead against the Bruins.

Kaleb Tarczewski added a career-high 16 points and snared eight rebounds for Arizona (16-0, 3-0 Pac-12), which shot 53.8 percent from the field to overcome 17 turnovers and 16 offensive rebounds by the Bruins. Gabe York connected on three first-half 3-pointers and contributed 12 points off the bench and highly touted freshman forward Aaron Gordon finished with 10 points and six rebounds for the Wildcats.

Kyle Anderson had 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead UCLA (12-3, 1-1). Bryce Alford added 12 points off the bench and leading scorer Jordan Adams (18.7) finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds but shot 4-for-15.

The Bruins trailed by 13 points with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining, but Gordon missed the front end of two one-and-one situations and the Wildcats committed three turnovers in a 13-0 run that brought UCLA even at 68 with 2:21 remaining. Gordon found redemption after UCLA had taken a one-point lead, however, hitting two free throws with 1:03 left to extend Arizona’s advantage to 73-70, and the Wildcats closed out the game by shooting 8-for-10 from the line in that span.

The Bruins hit a lull after starting guard Norman Powell went to the bench with his second foul just under five minutes into the game, missing eight of their next nine field goal attempts as the Wildcats moved ahead by six points. UCLA received a nice boost from its bench players and briefly took the lead before York hit two 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the first half and Johnson sank another to give Arizona a 42-38 lead at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: UCLA shot 40 percent from the floor after coming in leading the nation in that category (52.7). … The only other time Arizona started 16-0 was in the 1931-32 season. … The Wildcats won the rebounding battle 37-36 and have outrebounded every opponent this season.
Top Game Performances
 
Arizona   UCLA
Nick Johnson 22 Scoring Kyle Anderson 16
T.J. McConnell 7 Assists Kyle Anderson 6
Kaleb Tarczewski 8 Rebounds Jordan Adams 11
Brandon Ashley 5 Free Throws Made Bryce Alford 6
T.J. McConnell 2 Steals Jordan Adams 3
Aaron Gordon 1 Blocks Kyle Anderson 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Arizona 79 53.8 6-18 17-26 18 37 2 4 17
UCLA 75 40.0 4-13 19-26 16 35 3 12 9