UCLA holds off Utah to improve to 3-0 in Pac-12 play

UCLA, which struggled to score late in the second half, improved to 3-0 in Pac-12 Conference play with a 57-53 victory at Utah on Thursday night.

The Bruins (13-3 overall) seemed to be cruising toward a victory when Larry Drew II made a jumper with 13:37 left in the second half for a 44-32 lead.

But Jordan Loverigde scored six consecutive points, including a dunk and a layup, for the Utes (8-7, 0-3) to help close their deficit to 55-53 with 3:28 left.

Drew, who was one of four Bruins in double figures, ended a four-minute scoring drought by making a layup with nine seconds left to provide the final margin of victory. Drew, Travis Wear and Jordan Adams each had 12 points to lead UCLA.

The Bruins had taken control of the game with a 16-5 run to close the first half, building a 34-23 lead at the intermission. Kyle Anderson scored all 11 of his points to help the Bruins take a 16-13 lead with 11 minutes left in the first half.

UCLA swingman Shabazz Muhammad made only three of 13 shots to finish with six points. The Bruins made 22 of 55 shots (40%) from the field, including five of 15 from three-point range.

Utah, which made 21 of 54 shots (38.9%), was led by Cedric Martin with 12 points, while Loveridge and Jason Washburn each finished with 11. The Utes missed 16 of their 20 three-point attempts.

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