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Lonzo Ball helps No.4 UCLA edge Utah

By John Coon, The Sports Xchange

SALT LAKE CITY -- Overpowering opponents on offense is UCLA's normal trademark this season. To outlast Utah in the final seconds, the Bruins had to turn to their defense to make a critical play.

UCLA got the stop it needed in the final seconds to secure an 83-82 victory over the Utes on Saturday afternoon. After Aaron Holiday put his team ahead by a point on a deep 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining, Utah had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds.

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The No. 4 Bruins (18-1, 5-1 Pac-12) attacked the Utes' offense with the precision of a bear hunting upstream for salmon and denied the upset. T.J. Leaf smothered Kyle Kuzma after he received the inbound pass and forced Kuzma into taking a contested 3-pointer that glanced off the rim.

Thomas Welsh secured the rebound with 1.0 second left and drained two free throws to secure the win.

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"We're known for our offensive end, so it's great to finally win getting the stop," Holiday said.

UCLA actually had three fouls to give when Utah had the ball with 12.1 seconds remaining. The Bruins burned the clock down to 5.1 seconds to complicate the Utes' efforts to set up a potential game-winning basket.

"It makes it a lot more difficult for them to run something and they didn't have any timeouts," guard Bryce Alford said. "We knew if we could take the time down and continue to just dwindle that clock down, it would make it really hard on them."

Lonzo Ball scored 17 points, dished out eight assists and collected six rebounds to lead the Bruins. Leaf added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Five different UCLA players scored in double figures.

Lorenzo Bonam scored 19 points to lead the Utes while Devon Daniels added 15 points and Kuzma chipped in 15 points and 11 rebounds. Utah (12-5, 3-2) had a five-game homecourt winning streak snapped. It also ended a nine-game home winning streak against Pac-12 opponents.

The Utes took an 80-78 lead on a 3-pointer from Sedrick Barefield with 2:18 remaining. They could not score again until Bonam hit a meaningless jumper at the buzzer.

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"With close games like that, you just got to look back and fix the little things," Barefield said. "It was a one-point game. There's really no mistake you take back and you end up on top. We just got to learn from those little things we didn't do or did do."

Both offenses came out on fire early in the first half. Utah made 7 of 8 shots and UCLA converted 5 of 7 field-goal attempts over the first 5 1/2 minutes. The Utes and the Bruins both shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half -- Utah connecting on 17 of 34 field-goal attempts and UCLA making 18 of 33 shots.

Utah staked out a 24-18 lead on a pair of baskets from Jayce Johnson and a jumper from Barefield for its first bench points. UCLA answered with a 16-3 run. The Bruins went ahead on back-to-back layups from Thomas Welsh and Ball and carved out a 37-29 lead with 6:58 left in the half when Welsh finished off the run with a jumper.

The Utes climbed back into it behind an 11-2 run and took a 40-39 lead on a 3-pointer from Daniels with 38 seconds remaining before halftime. Alford answered with a 3-pointer in the final seconds, though, and UCLA took a 42-40 edge into the locker room.

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Utah surged ahead after halftime. The Utes opened the second half on an 11-0 run culminating in back-to-back layups from Bonam and took a 51-42 lead.

UCLA missed seven straight shots during Utah's run before getting its first basket on a fadeaway 3-pointer from Ball. The Bruins missed 11 of 12 overall to open the half before finally heating up.

UCLA cut Utah's lead to one at 55-54 after Ball took a stolen pass in for a dunk and Isaac Hamilton dialed up a 3-pointer on the Bruins' ensuing possession. The Bruins finally went back ahead 60-57 after another steal and slam from Ball.

Ball played all 40 minutes for the first time this season and his presence proved critical in keeping the Bruins steady on both ends of the court down the stretch.

"I've said all year he beats you in different ways," UCLA coach Steve Alford said. "He'll beat you with a 3-pointer that's a dagger. He'll beat you with penetrating. You think you've got everybody covered and he finds the one guy in the corner wide open for a shot. He made a lot of winning plays tonight at the defensive end."

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Utah went back ahead 68-64 on back-to-back 3-pointers from Bonam and Barefield. The Bruins and Utes traded baskets down to the final minutes, until Utah finally came up short at a critical time.

"We just didn't completely finish plays," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We knew we were going to have our hands full. It's a great offensive team. What makes them so unique is their ability to push the ball in transition and continue to move. Guys share the basketball really well and then when you can put in some of those offensive boards, it's a juggernaut. Makes it tough for us."

NOTES:

-- Utah made all nine layups it attempted in the first half. G Devon Daniels and G Lorenzo Bonam scored four apiece.

-- UCLA improved to 16-0 when leading at halftime this season.

-- Utah outscored UCLA 50-34 in the paint and finished with a 35-34 edge on rebounds. The Bruins, however, had a 23-9 advantage in second-chance points.

-- The game featured 12 lead changes and nine ties.

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