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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Even storied basketball schools like Kentucky and UCLA can play a clunker occasionally.
Erik Daniels scored 14 points and the ninth-ranked Wildcats defeated the Bruins 52-50 in the John Wooden Classic on Saturday in a game marked by intense defense but terrible shooting.
Kentucky shot 27 percent to 34 percent for UCLA, surprisingly low percentages for the two schools with the most NCAA basketball titles between them. The Bruins have 11 and the Wildcats seven.
The Wildcats (4-0) led by 17 points in the first half of a game in which they never trailed. The Bruins (2-1) closed within three points three times in the final 7 1/2 minutes, but couldn’t put together a scoring run.
Cliff Hawkins added 12 points for the Wildcats and Chuck Hayes had 13 rebounds in front of family and friends who drove six hours from his hometown of Modesto.
Dijon Thompson led UCLA with 14 points, while Cedric Bozeman had 12 and Ryan Hollins 10.
UCLA got into trouble when 7-footers Michael Fey and Hollins each picked up two fouls in the opening 3 1/2 minutes. Then point guard Bozeman earned his second foul with 13:22 remaining in the half, triggering a cascade of boos from the crowd.
UCLA shot 24 percent, but Kentucky wasn’t much better at 29 percent, so the Bruins only trailed 27-17 at halftime. At one point, the Bruins fell behind by 17 points as Kentucky ran off nine straight points and rattled UCLA with full-court pressure.
It was UCLA’s fewest points in a half since scoring 18 against Arizona on Jan. 18, when the Bruins lost 87-52 – their worst-ever defeat at Pauley Pavilion.
Fey was called for his third and fourth fouls barely two minutes into the second half. The Bruins were desperate for manpower, so he returned just three minutes later.
The Bruins played without promising freshman Trevor Ariza (collapsed lung) and senior T.J. Cummings (academically ineligible), leaving them with just a seven-player rotation. Only three players scored in the first half.
The undersized Wildcats, who don’t start a player taller than 6-8, outrebounded the Bruins 41-39.
UCLA closed to 36-33 on seven straight points, including four by Hollins, with 7:31 remaining. North Carolina transfer Brian Morrison ignited the fans when he tipped the ball away at midcourt from Gerald Fitch, who fell. Morrison took off with the ball, scored on a fastbreak layin, got fouled and made the free throw.
Morrison fouled out with 1:50 remaining after scoring all nine of his points in the second half.
Kentucky led 41-33 on consecutive baskets by Daniels and Fitch, who hit a 3-pointer. Hawkins scored the Wildcats’ final seven points.
Kentucky leads the series 6-3, with the last six meetings on neutral courts.
The teams’ most memorable meeting was in the 1975 NCAA championship game. The Bruins won 92-85 for their 10th national title in 12 years under Wooden, who retired after the game. Wooden, 93, was in attendance Saturday and received a prolonged standing ovation.
