UCLA basketball: Bruins hang on to defeat Arizona State, 72-70
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First came a torrid shooting display. Then came a second half of rugged inside play and tough-as-nails defense, including plenty of zone.
The combination gave UCLA an upset victory over Arizona State, 72-70, at Pauley Pavilion this afternoon.
The Bruins’ victory in this Pacific 10 Conference opener was keyed by forward Nikola Dragovic, who tied a career-best performance with 23 points.
Rihard Kuksiks led the Sun Devils with 15 points.
UCLA opened an 11- point halftime lead by shooting 83%, the best offensive performance in any half by a Bruins team for the decade.
But shots stopped falling so frequently after that, Arizona State clawing back to within a point with 4:23 remaining.
It took some gutsy free-throw shooting, a tough basket in the lane by guard Malcolm Lee and a last-second block by Jerime Anderson for UCLA to hang on for the victory.
-- David Wharton