Arizona’s win and Washington State’s loss seals championship for UA
LOS ANGELES — KJ Lewis had a team-high 18 points off the bench — one of five Arizona players who scored in double figures — and the No. 5-ranked Wildcats clinched the Pac-12 Conference regular-season championship on Thursday with their 88-65 rout of host UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.
(VIDEO) TOMMY LLOYD POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Arizona (24-6, 15-4 Pac-12) trailed for just 18 seconds early in the first half before runs of 12-2 and 17-6 sent the Wildcats into intermission with a 44-27 lead.
Arizona went 5-of-11 from 3-point range, 13-of-26 from the floor overall and 13-of-16 at the free-throw line in building its halftime advantage.
UCLA (14-16, 9-10) was unable to put up much resistance in the second half, as Arizona’s lead ballooned to as many as 28 points. Jaden Bradley finished with 13 points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.
Caleb Love scored 17 points for Arizona, Pelle Larsson added 12 points and Kylan Boswell finished with 10 points and a game-high five assists. Keshad Johnson, who scored seven points, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
UCLA could not keep pace with Arizona, which shot 28 of 54 from the floor and 9 of 23 from beyond the arc. The Bruins went 23-of-59 from the floor, including 6-of-18 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Lazar Stefanovic, who scored a game-high 20 points, made all but one of the Bruins’ 3-pointers, going 5-of-9. Dylan Andrews added 18 points and Adem Bona scored 10 points but shot just 4 of 13 from the floor.
UCLA has lost five in a row. Arizona snapped a five-game skid at Pauley Pavilion.
Coupled with No. 18 Washington State’s 74-68 home loss to Washington earlier on Thursday night, Arizona’s win also clinched the outright conference championship. It is the 18th and final regular-season Pac-12 title for Arizona, which joins the Big 12 in 2024-25.
–Field Level Media
