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Arizona trailed the Bruins by up to 16 points and, despite going on a late 10-0 run to pull within a point, never managed to tie or take a lead in the second half. The Wildcats wound up going 1-2 in their now-concluded three-year series with their former Pac-12 rival, beating them in Los Angeles last season but losing Monday and in December 2024 at Phoenix.

It was "huge," UCLA coach Mick Cronin said of his team's win. "They're going to win a lot of games, man ...you get a win over a team like that, it's massive."

The outcome was the opposite of the Wildcats' triumph on the same court exactly a year earlier, when they beat then-defending national champion Florida 93-87 at T-Mobile Arena to open a season the UA ended in the Final Four.

Down by up to 16 early in the second half and trailing much of it by double-digits, the Wildcats turned it into a riveting game by going on a 10-0 run after to pull within one, 71-70, with 3:11 left.

UCLA later pulled back ahead 78-72 thanks in part to two free throws from Trent Perry but UA's Derek Dixon put in his fourth 3-pointer of the second half to cut it to 78-75 with 1:06 left. Dixon missed all five field goals he took in the first half but hit 4 of 9 3s after halftime.

From there, UCLA was called for a 10-second backcourt violation, but Arizona turned the ball over on its ensuing possession when Motiejus Krivas passed out of a jam inside to nobody on the perimeter.

"He obviously thought he had a teammate open in that deep corner and kind of blindly threw the ball there," UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. "Unfortunately the only guys in white jerseys were on the bench. But it doesn't come down to that play."

That left UCLA with the 3-point lead and 42.5 second left. Eric Dailey broke away fror a dunk, and Mandaquit was blocked on a layuip attempt during UA’s next turnover. Two free throws from UCLA’s Nikola Kusturica gave UA an 82-75 lead with 32 seconds left and the Bruins hung on from there.

UA wound up shooting just 36.7% and was outrebounded 46-45.

"UCLA is a great defensive team,"  Lloyd said. "They came in with a game plan, and it obviously kind of took us out of our rhythm, and we just couldn't find it for a while.

"That happens to teams, especially early in the season. You got a lot of new guys playing new roles, you get punched in the face a little bit, and maybe you kind of lose your way. But I'm proud of the way our guys fought back."

While Trent Perry had 21 points to lead UCLA, Kharchenkov built his 38 points on 12-for-20 shooting, hitting 2 of 6 3-pointers while often barging his way to the basket for layups.

In his tireless 38-minute effort, Kharchenkov also had 10 rebounds and a steal while turning the ball over three times.

He's "elite," Cronin said. "I mean, did I tell you so? Yes. I told you. I told them. I told ...He's as good at as getting to the lane as as you'll see. As he develops his 3-point shot, the guy's got a long, long pro career. Just a really tough kid, a great player."

After trailing 43-29 at halftime, Arizona cut the Bruins’ lead to single digits several times during the first 10 minutes of the second half, while Dixon put the Wildcats within 62-56 by hitting a pair of 3-pointers with about nine minutes left.

But UCLA built back up to a 71-60 lead by the time Joe Philon hit a 3-pointer with 5:03 to go.

In the first half, Kharchenkov had 18 points but it still wasn’t enough to keep UCLA from taking a 43-29 halftime lead.

Arizona shot just 28.6% for the first half and hit only 1 of 13 3-pointers while also being outrebounded 27-22. While Kharchenkov had his 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting, no other Wildcat scored more than three points, while Dixon was 0-for-5 without an assist.

The Wildcats were playing again without forward RJ Godfrey, who has faced legal setbacks in his cases in Georgia and Texas in an effort to gain eligibility as a fifth-year player this season.

"I got no time to be frustrated," Lloyd said of Godfrey's status. "Obviously, I think we're going to be a better team with him, but we knew he wasn't going to play tonight, and you know we had enough in the locker room even without R.J. to to play better than we did.

"So let's focus on playing better, and then hopefully we can get R.J. situation figured out, and that'll give us a shot in the arm."