Bruins rally from 15 down to beat ASU 68-66
TEMPE — Sebastian Mack scored consecutive layups in the final 72 seconds, and UCLA completed a rally from down as many as 15 points to hand Arizona State its first home loss of the season in a 68-66 decision on Wednesday in Tempe, Arizona.
UCLA (8-10, 3-4 Pac-12 Conference) dug an early hole, going into halftime trailing by 13 points. Mack, the Bruins’ leading scorer this season, went scoreless in the first half.
Mack helped key the second-half rally with 11 points, however, including the pivotal four he scored down the stretch.
The Bruins shot 13 of 24 from the floor in the second half after going just 9-of-22 in the first. UCLA also shot 16 of 21 at the foul line in the second half.
Lazar Stefanovic led all scorers with a career-high-tying 18 points, 15 of which came after intermission, and four straight occuring during a key point in the Bruins’ comeback. He sank four foul shots when Arizona State’s Adam Miller fouled him, Shawn Phillips Jr. was assessed two technicals and ejected.
The Sun Devils (10-7, 4-2) received four technical fouls in a chippy second half.
After Phillips’ ejection, Will McClendon made a 3-pointer to give UCLA its first lead of the night as part of a 14-0 run.
Arizona State regained the lead twice in the final five minutes, including on Frankie Collins’ 3-pointer with 2:04 remaining, but could not overcome Mack’s late baskets.
(VIDEO): SUN DEVIL POSTGAME DOWNLOAD: Frankie Collins discusses loss to UCLA
Collins and Miller led the Sun Devils with 16 points each. Jamiya Neal scored 13 points and Jose Perez added 12.
Brandon Williams shot 5-of-6 off the bench en route to 13 points for UCLA, which earned consecutive wins for the first time since early November. Adem Bona scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds, added five assists and blocked a career-high seven shots before fouling out.
–Field Level Media
