LOS ANGELES — Aaron Holiday scored 16 points and No. 3 UCLA rallied with a 14-0 run over the final 10 minutes to beat Washington State 77-68 on Saturday night for its ninth straight victory and a 16-1 finish at home.
Isaac Hamilton added 14 points and Thomas Welsh had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bruins (28-3, 15-3 Pac-12), who played without injured TJ Leaf. He wore a walking boot to protect his sprained left ankle and his No. 22 jersey over a gray hoodie while sitting on the bench.
Lonzo Ball had 12 points and 14 assists to break Gary Payton’s freshman Pac-12 assist record.
Charles Callison led the Cougars (13-17, 6-12) with 25 points. Josh Hawkinson added 16 points and 14 rebounds, becoming the school’s career rebounding leader.
Hawkinson scored six straight points and Callison hit a 3-pointer that put the Cougars ahead 47-44. The Bruins missed eight of 10 shots during a 4 1/2 -minute stretch and trailed 51-50.
Bryce Alford made a 3-pointer to launch the 14-0 run that gave UCLA a 64-51 lead. Ike Anigbogu came up with a big block of WSU’s Robert Franks as he was going in for what appeared to be a wide-open dunk.
Callison scored 13 of the Cougars’ final 17 points while the Bruins went 3 of 5 from the free throw line in the closing minutes.
The Cougars closed the first half on a 16-9 run to trail 35-34. Alford missed two 3-point attempts, airballing the first one, and Hamilton’s layup at the buzzer was declared no good.
BIG PICTURE
Washington State: The Cougars head into postseason play having lost two in a row and seven of nine and don’t figure to hang around long.
UCLA: The Bruins enter next week’s Pac-12 Tournament as the league’s hottest team, but they could run into No. 6 Oregon and No. 7 Arizona in Las Vegas. They lost to both teams during the regular season as well as crosstown rival USC.
TRIBUTE
The 1966-67 UCLA team that went 30-0 and won the national championship under coach John Wooden was honored at halftime on its 50th anniversary. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lucius Allen and team captain Mike Warren were on hand. They were part of Wooden’s second undefeated team.
UP NEXT
Washington State: The Cougars will play an opening-round game in the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
UCLA: The third-seeded Bruins will play in the tournament quarterfinals Thursday.
