LOS ANGELES — Thomas Welsh led five players in double figures with 21 points and UCLA knocked off No. 1 Kentucky 87-77 on Thursday night in the Bruins’ first victory over a top-ranked team since 2003.
Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton added 15 points each, Tony Parker had 11 and Aaron Holiday 10 for the Bruins (5-3), who led almost the entire game and shot 53 percent from the field. They last beat a No. 1 team on March 13, 2003, defeating Arizona 96-89 in overtime.
Some fans dashed onto the court to celebrate at the buzzer, but the majority were held back by security.
Isaiah Briscoe led Kentucky (7-1) with 20 points. Jamal Murray added 17 and Derek Willis added 11.
The Wildcats had five players in foul trouble, including Alex Poythress, who fouled out with four points with under 10 minutes left. They lost a regular-season game for the first time since March 8, 2014, at Florida.
Kentucky shot its worst of the season at 38 percent.
The result was a dramatic turnaround from last December, when the Wildcats dealt the Bruins a 39-point drubbing in Chicago. Kentucky opened that game with a 24-0 run and led 41-7 at halftime.
This time, the Bruins dominated from the start, going on a 9-0 run after Kentucky scored the game’s first basket. They ran off 10 straight points later in the half, when the Bruins shot 50 percent and led by 11.
UCLA opened the second half with a 17-10 spurt to build its largest lead of 15. Welsh and Parker, who both had two points in the first half, scored six points each.
The Wildcats couldn’t get their offense in gear, appearing to try to do too much in a desperate bid to reduce their double-digit deficit. They got within single digits just once — early in the second half. Willis’ three-point play got them to 67-57 before consecutive baskets by Hamilton and Welsh pushed UCLA’s lead to 71-57.
The Wildcats lost starting forward Marcus Lee, who sustained a head injury in the first half and didn’t return.
The Bruins led 37-29 at halftime after holding the Wildcats to their worst first-half shooting percentage (37.5) of the season. Kentucky missed 10 of its last 13 shots.
Skal Labissiere’s lone basket of the half left Kentucky trailing 22-21. The Bruins closed the half on a 17-8 run, including 10 straight that produced their largest lead of 11.
No. 6 Oklahoma 111,
Central Arkansas 68
NORMAN, Okla. — Jordan Woodard matched his career-high with 24 points to help Oklahoma (5-0) beat Central Arkansas (1-6).
The Sooners posted their highest point total since 1996.
Woodard made six 3-pointers in a 3:30 stretch early in the second half. The junior had never even attempted more than five 3s in a game. Oklahoma made 11 of their 13 3-pointers in the second half.
Buddy Hield scored 19 points, Isaiah Cousins had 16 and a career-high 11 rebounds and Khadeem Lattin added a career-high 12 points for the Sooners.
Oklahoma held the Bears to 38 percent shooting.
Jordan Howard scored 16 points, Derreck Brooks had 13 and Jake Zuilhof added 11 for Central Arkansas, which lost its third straight.
Women’s roundup
No. 7 Oregon St. 65, Marquette 58
MILWAUKEE — Jamie Weisner scored 26 points, Ruth Hamblin had 17 points and 17 rebounds and No. 7 Oregon State (6-0) rallied from 10 points down to beat Marquette (2-5).
No. 13 Florida St. 65, Rutgers 43.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Leticia Romero was 8 of 13 from the field, including making her only 3-point attempt, and scored 18 points as Florida State (6-1) won in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge game against Rutgers (5-3).
No. 14 Duke 84, Minnesota 64
DURHAM, N.C. — Azura Stevens picked up her fifth double-double of the season with 26 points and 11 rebounds for Duke (7-1) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup against Minnesota (4-2).
Louisville 85,
No. 19 Michigan St. 78
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Mariya Moore and Asia Durr both scored 20 points and Louisville (2-4) took control early in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge contest against the Spartans (4-2).
No. 24 South Florida 86,
Harvard 59
TAMPA, Fla. — Alisia Jenkins scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for South Florida (4-2) against Harvard (4-3).
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