Jaden Bradley, Wildcats waste 2nd-half surge and fall to UCLA in Phoenix

Jaden Bradley and Arizona men’s basketball squandered a double-digit lead to No. 24 UCLA on Saturday in a 57-54 loss at a neutral site in Footprint Center, the home of the Phoenix Suns.

After trailing 24-18 in the first half, Arizona (4-5) opened up a 49-36 lead sparked by senior Caleb Love’s lone three-pointer (1 of 7) for the day. However, the Wildcats went cold from the floor in the final 10:49 (1-for-8) and recorded seven turnovers to close another disappointing game.

Bradley was one of two Arizona players to hit 10 points (12), doing so on 4-for-7 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He added seven rebounds, six assists and five steals for a true all-around performance.

The junior guard matched a season high in steals (five) and set a new bar for assists (six).

Timeout usage was a factor for Arizona, as it was down to one time out with 8:49 left in the second half and could not put the brakes on UCLA. The Bruins stormed back from down 11 to knot things up at 52 apiece by hitting 6 of 9 attempts, with five baskets being in the paint.

Despite outrebounding the Bruins 34-24, the Wildcats managed nine fewer shot attempts (51-42) by committing eight more turnovers (22-14).

UCLA (9-1) held up its reputation as the No. 1 scoring defense in the nation (55.1 points allowed per game), holding a high-powered Arizona to 54 and 2-of-16 from beyond the three-point arc. Arizona entered averaging just over 87 points per contest.

Love, the Wildcats’ leading scorer at 14.1 points per game entering Saturday, was kept under 10 points for only the third time this season. He finished with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting and his dismal day from deep dropped his three-point percentage to 29.5%.

Head coach Tommy Lloyd had to rely on big man Henri Veesaar (season-high 27 minutes) with starting center Motiejus Krivas out with a left leg injury. It was the first game Krivas has missed with the injury, and the Lithuanian was seen wearing a boot on the sideline.

Veesaar tallied nine points on 3 of 8 shooting and added seven rebounds. He did, however, match a team-high four turnovers (Trey Townsend also had four).

Townsend, one of the Wildcats’ newest additions from Oakland, was second on the team with 10 points following a 4-of-8 offensive output.

With the loss, Arizona’s downward spiral for continued after the Wildcats have been ranked outside of the AP top 25 for the first time in more than three years since Dec. 2.

The Wildcats had won the previous three UCLA matchups under Lloyd, and six of the last seven including the 2022 and 2023 Pac-12 Championship.

The Wildcats and Bruins, now non-conference foes in the Big 12 and Big Ten respectively, played the first of three scheduled neutral-site contests. Arizona and UCLA will play at unannounced arenas in 2025 and 2027.

In a Thursday press conference, Lloyd said he and UCLA head coach, Mick Cronin, have discussed establishing a home-home series in the future similar to that of Arizona’s existing relationship with Duke. Lloyd joked both programs needed a “little breather” at a neutral court since neither had much success defending their own house in a while.

“I’m pretty steadfast, I think there’s an opportunity for us to really create an annual event up (in Phoenix) that has a lot of meaning,” Lloyd said. “Obviously, Phoenix is our strongest, deepest alumni base, so I want to do something up there to engage.”

Arizona prepares for two final nonconference games against Samford (Dec. 18) and Central Michigan (Dec. 21) before their first Big 12 action in Tucson against TCU on Dec. 30.

 

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