UCLA basketball: A stunner in the making at Wooden Classic?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Showing a fervor and determination rarely seen this season, UCLA battled back from an early 10-point deficit Saturday afternoon at the Honda Center to take a 43-37 halftime lead over No. 16 Brigham Young in the Wooden Classic.

The Bruins went on a 23-5 run after falling behind, 16-6, and led by as many as nine points against the Cougars, who committed 12 turnovers and missed six of 12 free throws.

Sophomore forward Reeves Nelson scored 12 points and sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt had eight for the Bruins, who led despite shooting only 48.1% to BYU’s 60.9% in part because they made 14 of 19 free throws.

Senior guard Jimmer Fredette had 17 points on six-for-eight shooting for the Cougars, but no other BYU player had more than four points.

The Cougars had been the aggressors in the early going, taking a 16-6 lead after the Bruins committed four turnovers in their first eight possessions.

But then UCLA put together its run, with junior guard Jerime Anderson later coming off the bench to give UCLA a 39-30 lead with a three-pointer 2 minutes 12 seconds before halftime.

--Ben Bolch