LOS ANGELES – Moses Brown recorded 17 points, eight rebound and four blocks as the UCLA men's basketball team lost to Colorad, 84-73, on Wednesday evening in a Pac-12 game in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Colorado's Shane Gatling totaled 28 points, connecting on 7 of 9 attempts from 3-point distance, leading the Buffaloes (13-9, 4-6) on Wednesday. Gatling made each of his first six 3-pointers, finishing the game with five assists, four rebounds and three steals.
UCLA trailed by as many as 13 points midway through the first half (18-5) before reducing Colorado's lead to just one points, at 38-37, by halftime.
Chris Smith scored 14 points off the bench for UCLA (12-11, 5-5), while Jaylen Hands had 13 points and Jules Bernard had 10 points.
"I'm just, like anyone in the room, I'm a competitor," Bruins' interim head coach Murry Bartow said. "And when you've got a game at home, you need to figure out a way to line up and win it. In the end, we just didn't get it done. That's what my frustration is. I love these guys, I love coaching these guys. They're great guys."
UCLA's reserves totaled 31 of the team's 73 points. Smith finished with career highs in field goals made (7) and shots attempted (12).
Gatling's 28-point effort helped Colorado finish the game having shot 54.2% from 3-point distance (13 of 24). The Buffaloes opened the game with a red-hot start, knocking down 4 of 5 shots from 3-point range to lead, 18-5. D'Shawn Schwartz and Gatling combined for 16 of Colorado's first 20 points.
UCLA used an 11-2 scoring run midway through the opening half, trimming Colorado's lead to just 38-37 at halftime. Hands led the way for the Bruins with eight points in the first half. His 3-point basket with 44 seconds to play in the opening half pulled UCLA to within one point.
Cody Riley's jump shot with 16:31 to play in the second half gave UCLA its first lead of the game, at 45-43. That basket was quickly answered by a 3-pointer from Gatling. Colorado stretched its lead to 52-47 after another 3-pointer from Gatling, this time with 14:28 to play. The Buffaloes led UCLA 58-51 with 11:18 to play, before the Bruins reduced their deficit to one points – at 60-59 – on a jump shot by Hands with 8:17 remaining.
From that point in the second half, Colorado outscored UCLA 18-6 over the next seven minutes to comfortably build a double-digit cushion.
The Bruins will return to action at home against Utah (12-10, 6-4) on Saturday, Feb. 9. The Bruins' game will be nationally televised on FOX at 2 p.m. (PT), in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.