UCLA Holds Off Arizona in Season-Opening Las Vegas Thriller
UCLA beat Arizona 84-75 in its season opener on Monday, November 2, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, overcoming foul trouble and a late Wildcats rally.
UCLA built a 14-point halftime advantage and led by as many as 16 early in the second half, but Arizona closed the gap to three with 42 seconds remaining. The Bruins answered with a long inbounds pass from Nikola Kusturica that set up an Eric Dailey Jr. breakaway dunk, then secured the win at the free-throw line and on defense.
Trent Perry led UCLA with 21 points, making all 11 of his free throws. Dailey and Jaylen Petty each scored 13. Petty also had seven rebounds and seven assists, while Sergej Macura contributed seven points, including a four-point play.
UCLA was without Filip Jovic, who injured his left ankle during practice on October 30 and was described as day to day. The Bruins also faced early foul trouble, with Arizona entering the bonus midway through the first half and making 12 of 16 free throws. UCLA switched to a zone defense and put together a 14-0 run.
Arizona’s Ivan Kharchchenkov scored 38 points, but the Wildcats could not complete the comeback. The victory gave UCLA a high-profile nonconference win to open the season.