UCLA basketball: Bruins scrap out 77-73 victory over Stanford

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UCLA did a two-step around Stanford’s two-man game Thursday.

The Bruins were eight of 10 from the foul line, four by Malcolm Lee, in the final 1 minute 37 seconds to hold off the Cardinal, 77-73, at Pauley Pavilion, surviving Landry Fields and Jeremy Green.

The two shredded the Bruins much of the game. Field and Green had 34 of Stanford’s 41 second-half points. Fields finished with 35 and Green had 18 for the game.

Things were so dire for the Bruins that they did the unthinkable, going to a man-to-man defense the final 7:39. UCLA seemed incapable of playing man consistently this season, which led to a permanent switch to a 2-3 zone.

This time, though, they were up to the task. The move sparked a 9-0 run to erase a 60-56 deficit. UCLA never trailed again.

Reeves Nelson’s dunk with 3:08 left gave UCLA a 69-64 lead. The Bruins then held on, with Michael Roll’s two free throws finally settling matters with three seconds left.

Nelson had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Bruins. Tyler Honeycutt had 12 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Roll had 16 points and Nikola Dragovic added 15.

-- Chris Foster