UCLA had its chances but couldn't put away No. 20 Ohio State on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic, first surrendering a late lead then failing to take advantage of late opportunities to take it back as the Buckeyes won 77-70.
The Bruins led as late as the second half with six minutes to play but Ohio State, despite star E.J. Liddell fouling out, closed strong on a 16-7 run. Liddell missed the team's last two games due to injury but made the start against UCLA, finishing with nine points, three boards and an assist in just 19 minutes of action. Duane Washington Jr. led the way with 14 points and Zed Key added 11 off the bench.
UCLA got a nice game from Cody RIley, who had 15 points on nine shots, and from Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang, who scored 13 points. But the team missed six layups after taking advantage of easy looks around the paint early. Second-chance opportunities helped keep the Bruins in the game but shooting struggles combined with going just 4-of-13 from deep -- compared to OSU's 8-of-22 mark from beyond the arc -- doomed them.
Ohio State was coming off a road loss to Purdue and hasn't quite looked the same in Liddell's absence, so taking care of business against UCLA -- and doing so with Liddell back -- is a positive sign as it improves to 6-1 on the season ahead of Big Ten play next week. For UCLA, it's its first loss since the season-opener but a missed opportunity to capitalize on momentum. It defeated a talented Marquette team on Friday and had ample chances to keep things rolling, but just couldn't finish the job.