Feb. 3, 2006
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jordan Farmar scored 18 points and Arron Afflalo added 17 to help No. 14 UCLA hold off Arizona State 69-60 Thursday night and remain alone atop the Pac-10 standings.
The Bruins (18-4, 8-2) didn't take their first double-digit lead until Afflalo hit a jumper with 2:39 remaining.
UCLA owns a one-game lead over California and Stanford, which both won Thursday, and two games over Arizona, which lost at Southern California.
The Sun Devils (7-12, 1-9) dropped their fourth in a row. Bryson Krueger led them with 14 points and Antwi Atuahene added 12. Their leading scorer, Kevin Kruger, was held to eight.
Last month, the Bruins escaped with a 1-point victory in Tempe on two late baskets by Farmar. This time, he did his damage in the first half with 15 points.
Arizona State trailed 50-46 when the Bruins went on a 19-14 run to end the game. Afflalo scored seven in a row and Cedric Bozeman beat the shot clock buzzer with a 3-pointer before repeated trips to the free throw line.
The Sun Devils briefly closed within three on two free throws by Serge Angounou, but freshman Michael Roll rescued UCLA with a 3-pointer that bounced out, then in before the game-ending run.
UCLA center Michael Fey returned for the first time since playing a minute against Washington on Jan. 14. He had missed most of the previous 10 games because of groin, shoulder and ankle injuries.
The Bruins never led by more than eight points in the first half, when Farmar scored 15. Arizona State outscored UCLA 8-3 to end the half trailing 32-30 after leading by four in the opening minutes.