In front of the largest McKale Center crowd of the season, No. 7 Arizona came out of the gates firing to take a commanding 42-30 lead over No. 3 UCLA at the half. However, the Bruins battled back, and the Wildcats held them off for a 64-61 victory to end the six-game losing streak against their Pac-12 rival.
"Well, that was great. I'm proud of how our guys responded after not playing well at Pauley," said coach Tommy Lloyd. "Obviously, you guys know I have a ton of respect for UCLA's program, their players, coach, and coaching staff. So, it was cool to get them back here today and be able to make some adjustments and have them go our way today."
After struggling against UCLA in the first matchup shooting 30% from the field, Arizona flipped the script, shooting 48% from the field and going 8 for 22 from the 3-point line.
Defensively, the Wildcats stifled the Bruins after allowing them to shoot 50% in the first matchup. Arizona (18-2, 8-1 Pac-12) turned things around and held UCLA to 39% shooting and 3 for 14 from the 3-point line.
For Lloyd's team, five players scored in double digits, with point guard Kerr Kriisa having a team-high 16 points on 4 for 14 shooting. But the player who was able to control the pace of the game was guard Dalen Terry, who in the previous game against the Bruins didn't record a single point and went 0 for 5 from the field.
Terry posted 10 points on 4 for 6 shooting but was also able to dictate the rhythm of the game with his nine rebounds and seven assists with one turnover in 35 minutes.
"That's what I do, you know, that's my role on the team is to do that," said Terry on his game. "And I hold myself to a high standard, so tonight was a game I needed to do that, and I tried to do it."
This season Terry has established himself as Arizona's version of a Swiss Army Knife by showing off his ability to fill a stat sheet with his 102 rebounds and 78 assists while averaging 6.6 points per game.
"He is a glue guy. I had visions all day, and I was trying to will it, that he would go 2 for 2 from three today, but he was 2 for 4, so it's huge." said Lloyd on Terry's performance. "Dalen's worked on his shot. It might not be a Reggie Miller or anything like that, but he's worked on his shot, and if he's open from three, he needs to shoot a couple of them a game.
"I believe in that kid. Then he also is kind of settling back down like he was early in the year where he's playing with force, but he's playing with his feet on the ground. And, then he's making effort plays. The offensive rebound put back, a defensive rebound where he's going up and getting it above the rim. Dalen is a special kid and a special player, and he deserves all the accolades coming his way."
The Bruins (16-3, 8-2) weren't able to get guard Johnny Juzang going as he ended the game with 12 points on 6 for 15 shooting while going 0 for 5 from the 3-point line.
Arizona's length and size seemed to create issues for UCLA's guards and post players all game long. The Wildcats finished with nine blocked shots and controlled the rebounding battle 44-36 over the Bruins.
Next up for the Wildcats will be another ranked matchup as No. 19 USC (18-3, 8-3) comes to Tucson for a 3 p.m. (MST) game Saturday on FOX.
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