Tyler Burton had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Hakim Hart added 10 points and host Villanova defeated UCLA 65-56 Saturday in Philadelphia.
The Wildcats (7-4), who snapped a three-game losing streak, also received 10 rebounds from Eric Dixon.
Leading 58-54, TJ Bamba caught Jordan Longino’s shot, which landed short of the basket, and hit a layup for a 60-54 advantage with 40 seconds remaining.
Lazar Stefanovic scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds for UCLA, while Adem Bona added 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Will McClendon chipped in nine points, all on 3-pointers.
The Bruins (5-3) had closed within 58-54 on a bank shot by Stefanovic with 1:18 left.
UCLA stayed aggressive and went ahead 45-41 when Bona converted a three-point play with 8:24 remaining.
Villanova equalized at 45 when Hart hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 7:45 left.
The Wildcats soon took a 52-45 lead with 4:47 to go when Brendan Hausen connected on his second consecutive deep trey. It completed an 11-0 Villanova run.
Villanova missed six straight shots but still managed to hold on to a 13-12 lead.
Bona then hit a difficult bank shot to put UCLA ahead by one. Dylan Andrews followed with a 3-pointer for a 17-13 advantage with 6:44 remaining.
While the Bruins took a four-point lead, the Wildcats run of missed shots reached 13. Dixon finally snapped the drought with a basket in the lane with 5:38 left to close within two.
McClendon dropped in back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 10-0 run to give UCLA a 29-22 lead with just under one minute left. They led 29-25 at halftime.
Villanova shot just 8-of-31 – 25.8 percent — from the field in the half.
The Wildcats scored the first three points of the second half, 1-of-2 free throws by Longino and a jumper by Mark Armstrong.
Armstrong hit a trey with 16:26 left to tie the game at 31.
Aday Mara threw down a dunk with 11:43 left to pull the Bruins within 41-40.
–Field Level Media
