Down by as many as 15 points in the second half, Kansas fought its own foul troubles and a staunch Bruin defense to close within three with under two minutes to go. That's as close as the Jayhawks would get as UCLA scored the game's final seven points.
UCLA came off a tough loss to cross-town rival USC and played like it had something to prove against the No. 1 team in the country, using a 21-5 run over a 5:20 span to build an 11-point first-half lead.
Throughout the first eight and a half minutes, there were four ties and ten lead changes. That's when UCLA's big run kicked in, which put the Bruins ahead by 13.
Kirk Hinrich fouled out with 3:13 to play, which made the Jayhawks' comeback tougher. UCLA hit only one basket in the final six minutes, but made 14 of 18 free throws to keep the game out of reach.
Kansas came in as the NCAA's highest-scoring team, averaging over 90 points a game, but a tough Bruin defense only let the Jayhawks score 77.
UCLA's Matt Barnes led all scoring with 27 points. The Bruins shot 53% for the game, while holding KU to just 41%. The Bruins outrebounded Kansas 34-32 while forcing 21 Jayhawk turnovers.
Drew Gooden's line for the game: 22 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Kirk Hinrich scored 17 points and Jeff Boschee added 14. Wayne Simien scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds in his 19 minutes.
Up next for the Hawks is a trip to Oklahoma State on Tuesday, January 15.
See tomorrow's Lawrence Journal-World, and KUSports.com, for full coverage of today's game.
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