UCLA
19-9, 10-6
Utah
18-9, 10-6
UCLA Edged at Utah, 84-78
February 22, 2018 | Men's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY โ Aaron Holiday scored a team-leading 23 points as the UCLA men's basketball team lost at Utah, 84-78, before 13,141 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Thursday night.
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UCLA (19-9, 10-6 Pac-12) trailed by as many as 14 points early in the second half before reducing Utah's cushion to one point, 70-69, with just under three minutes left in regulation.
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A three-pointer by Utah's Parker Van Dyke with 2:15 to go pushed the Utes' lead back to four points โ at 73-69. Utah increased its margin to six points before a three-point basket by UCLA's Kris Wilkes at the 1:15 mark reduced the Bruins' deficit to 75-72.
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The Bruins were never able to tie the game in the final minute. Trailing 80-75, UCLA cut Utah's cushion to 80-78 on a deep three-pointer from Holiday with 9.4 seconds left.
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Utah's David Collette finished the game with a team-leading 21 points, going a perfect 9-for-9 from the field in the Utes' victory.
"We just didn't defend in the first half, like we've got to defend," said Steve Alford, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "I thought that we were better defensively in the second half. Offensively, I liked how we attacked their zone. I thought that we got some good looks and did a good job in a lot of different areas. We just had a stretch there in the first half where we were not very good, defensively."
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Utah (18-9, 10-6) led UCLA at halftime, 47-40, having concluded the first half on a 5-0 scoring run. The Utes opened the second half with a 7-0 scoring run to stake a 54-40 cushion at the 16:55 mark.
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From that point, UCLA pulled to within nine points on an old-fashioned three-point play by Jaylen Hands with 15:18 left in the second half. A three-point basket by Holiday with 10:43 remaining in the game reduced Utah's advantage to just six points, at 61-55.
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After a free throw by Collette, which gave Utah a seven-point lead, UCLA answered with a jump shot by Holiday (8:41) and a layup from Holiday (7:49), reducing the Utes' margin to just three points.
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UCLA opened the first half by claiming a 19-12 cushion just seven minutes into the contest. The Bruins maintained a seven-point advantage with 12:29 to play before halftime on a three-pointer by Alex Olesinski (putting UCLA on top, 22-15).
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The Bruins have two regular-season games remaining. UCLA will play at Colorado on Sunday, Feb. 25. Game time at the Coors Events Center (Boulder, Colo.) is 1 p.m. PT (2 p.m. MT). UCLA's game at Colorado will be televised on ESPNU.
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The following week, UCLA will close its regular-season schedule at USC on Saturday, March 3.
