Sebastian Mack scored four of his game-high 19 points book-ending a pivotal, 9-2 run as UCLA held off a second-half rally from visiting Colorado and scored its sixth consecutive win in a 64-60 decision on Thursday in Los Angeles.
The Bruins (14-11, 9-5 Pac-12 Conference) led most of the night, and by as many as 14 points in the second half, but Colorado chipped away at the deficit to force ties twice with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation.
A Tristan da Silva 3-pointer with 4:50 to go knotted the score at 54-54, but Mack answered with a quick bucket on the UCLA end. Then Lazar Stefanovic connected on back-to-back baskets, including a 3-pointer.
Another Mack score pushed the lead to seven points and gave the Bruins ample cushion to keep the Buffaloes at bay the rest of the night.
Colorado (16-9, 7-7) shot 24 of 46 from the floor, including 8 of 9 from Cody Williams, who scored a team-high 18 points. The Buffs limited UCLA to 24-of-54 shooting from the field but could not overcome a 19-4 disparity in points off turnovers and 12-of-18 free-throw shooting for the Bruins to just 6 of 10 for Colorado.
The Buffs’ perimeter players struggled offensively, as well, with leading scorer KJ Simpson held to four points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field (he entered the game averaging 19.4 points). Colorado’s frontcourt trio of Williams, da Silva and Eddie Lampkin handled the bulk of the scoring, with da Silva notching 16 points and Lampkin posting 12.
With Colorado down three points in the closing seconds, da Silva attempted a shot inside that rimmed out. The ensuing held ball secured the win for UCLA, which improved to 8-1 over its last nine.
Adem Bona scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bruins. Dylan Andrews added 13 points to extend his streak of consecutive double-figure scoring games to six.
–Field Level Media