UCLA
9-3
Kentucky
9-2
UCLA Knocks Off No. 7 Kentucky, 83-75
December 23, 2017 | Men's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS โ Kris Wilkes and Aaron Holiday each scored 20 points to lead the UCLA men's basketball team to a win over No. 7 Kentucky, 83-75, in the nightcap of the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday afternoon from the Smoothie King Center.
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Wilkes tied a career-high in points, while Holiday tallied his fourth 20-point performance of the season. UCLA (9-3) had five players score in double-figures as Jaylen Hands registered 14 points and Prince Ali added 12. Thomas Welsh recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
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The Bruins made a season-high 12 three-pointers and secured their third victory against Kentucky in four seasons. Since losing to the Wildcats in Dec. 2014 in Chicago, UCLA has gone 3-1 against Kentucky with victories in Pauley Pavilion (Dec. 2015) and Rupp Arena (Dec. 2016) and on Saturday in New Orleans.
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"I was really pleased with our defense," UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. "I thought we did a great job on the backboard. We limited their second-chance opportunities. We did the same thing at Michigan. These are teams that have really taken pride in their board play, and we've done a good job on the backboard. That's pretty important moving forward. It's a great time for our guys to get a couple days off with the break."
Holiday scored eight of the Bruins' final 12 points over the game's last 2:30. The Bruins' floor general hit a layup with 33 seconds left to push UCLA's margin to 79-73 before sinking two free throws with 20 seconds to go, pushing the Bruins' cushion to 81-73.
"He's unbelievable," Alford said of Holiday. "I've said all along that he's like a pit bull who is just going to come at you. I've loved coaching him. These have been three great years here."
Kentucky (9-2) was led by Hamidou Diallo'sย 18 points. The Wildcats also received 16 points from Wenyen Gabriel (who nailed three three-pointers) and 15 points from Kevin Knox.
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UCLA raced to an 11-point advantage to begin the second half as Ali hit a pair of shots from behind the 3-point line. Ali's second three-pointer came just 2:13 into the period, putting UCLA ahead by a 50-39 margin. Kentucky responded with a run of its own, tying the contest at 52-52 with 14:36 to go in regulation. Knox scored eight of his 15 points over a three-minute stretch in the second half.
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The Bruins grabbed the lead and once again took a double-digit advantage over the Wildcats, thanks to a 8-0 scoring run led by back-to-back 3-pointers from Welsh and Hands. Those triples were followed by a fast-break layup by Hands, giving UCLA a 71-59 advantage with 7:33 on the clock.
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Kentucky never got closer than four points through the remainder of the game. A difficult layup by Holiday made it a six-point margin with 33 seconds to play. Clutch free throws from both Holiday and Hands sealed the victory.
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UCLA and Kentucky were tied at halftime, 39-39, after the Bruins had concluded the first half on a 13-5 scoring run. Wilkes started that scoringย run with a 3-pointer with just over four minutes remaining in the half followed later byย Welsh hitting a shot from behind the arc to force a Kentucky timeout at the 2:17 mark. Wilkes scored the final five points of the first half, knotting the game at 39-39.
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The Bruins jumped out to a 15-11 lead to begin the game thanks to an 8-0 run. UCLA scored six points in the paint and Wilkes hit a sideline jumper. The Wildcats battled back and led by as many as eight points in the half after going on a 13-0 run, capped by a Nick Richards jumper with 4:32 to play in the opening half.
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UCLA shot 48 percent (29-for-61) from the floor and made 48 percent (12-for-30) of its 3-point shots. Kentucky was limited to just 43 percent shooting from the field (29-for-68) and shot 29 percent (6-for-21) from beyond the three-point arc.
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UCLA won the rebounding battle against Kentucky, 37-36, and posted a 26-20 advantage on the defensive glass.
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The Bruins return home to open Pac-12 play against Washington State on Friday, Dec. 29 (8 p.m., PT) and will close the 2017 calendar year with a New Year's Eve game against Washington on Sunday, Dec. 31 (5 p.m., PT).
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UCLA's game on Friday, Dec. 29 will be nationally televised by ESPN2 with Roxy Bernstein and Bill Walton calling the action live in Pauley Pavilion.
