LAS VEGAS -- It is a great time to be a Bruins fan. Their football team is sitting at No. 5 in the rankings. Their women's basketball team are the reigning national champions. Now, their men's basketball team has upset No. 5 Arizona to start their season.
They took down the Wildcats 84-75 to cap off the Naismith Hall of Fame Showcase in Las Vegas.
"To get a win over a team like that, it's massive," said Head Coach Mick Cronin.
Arizona didn't make it easy. UCLA led for most of the game until the Wildcats made a late second-half charge, making it a one point, game, 71-70, with just three minutes to play in the 2nd half. From there, the Bruins put the clamps down and finished the job.
"All we have is ourselves at the end of the day," said junior guard Trent Perry. "We came together and we got a lot of chemistry. I'm proud of them."
The Bruins had the momentum and the advantage early, getting out to a 27-13 lead in the contest's first 10 minutes. They carried that start into a 14 point halftime lead.
"Our defense got us separation and our rebounding," Cronin added.
Though their defense had no answer for Arizona's Ivan Kharchenkov, who led all scorers with 38 points. The Bruins virtually held everyone else in check. Only one other Wildcat had more than eight points.
Offensively, the Bruins had a balanced attack from all nine players in Cronin's rotation. Perry lead them in scoring with 21 points.
"Trent's one of the best closers in the country," Cronin said about Perry. "If we get the lead, he's like Mariano Rivera."
The roar of the Arizona faithful filled T-Mobile Arena with an energy normally felt in an early February late-season game. UCLA was put to the test both in the atmosphere and on the floor in the very first game of the year. At least for one night, they passed with flying colors.
"For the past week, I said 'hey,' Arizona fans they travel," Perry explained about warning his teammates of the opening night environment they faced.
At times, it didn't feel like a neutral site game.
Nonetheless, UCLA shook off a furious comeback from Arizona to leave Las Vegas with a win. The big concern for Coach Cronin now is that his team might get too big-headed.
"You got to stay humble," the coach said. "You got to stay hungry."
The Bruins' athletic department have truly eaten a lot lately. They have feasted on the gridiron, and now the men's basketball team is joining the table, starting off hot on the hardwood.
