A heavy dose of the Wear twins catapulted UCLA to a 65-58 victory over Arizona in the 18^th annual John R. Wooden Classic at Honda Center.

Travis Wear scored a career-high 20 points for UCLA in a 65-58 win over Arizona.

Travis Wear poured in a career-high 20 points on the night, while his brother David added another 14 for the Bruins in their first Pac-12 win of the season. Overall, the 6-10 sophomore forwards were a combined 13-of-16 shooting from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

“This is obviously a very big win for us tonight, after starting out 0-2 (in conference play) and playing against a very good Arizona team,” UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. “The Wears did a good job inside tonight, scoring a lot of baskets around the goal. They got to the line a little more. Travis got to the line six times tonight, which was big for us.”

The performance by the Wears was even more crucial in the game, as the Bruins were without the services of Joshua Smith. The sophomore center, who is fourth on the team in scoring, was out due to a concussion suffered in practice the day before.

“I give UCLA a lot of credit,” Arizona head coach Sean Miller said. “They were without one of their very important players – Josh Smith – and it seemed to galvanize the rest of the group. The Wear twins are very good players and took advantage of us. We lost to a better team tonight.”

After Arizona jumped in front during the early moments of the game, the Bruins went on a 17-4 run that would give them a lead they would never relinquish. Each time the Wildcats would try to close the gap, UCLA would stand tall.

Solomon Hill totaled 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half for Arizona.

The Wildcats (10-5, 1-1) would get to within two points of the lead near the end of the first half, getting a pair of Brendon Lavendar three-pointers to make the score 31-29. The Bruins quickly struck back, getting six straight points from senior guards Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson, to take a 37-30 lead into halftime.

UCLA (8-7, 1-2) continued to find success in the opening minutes of the second half, going up by 11 at one point. The Wear twins would then get into foul trouble and the tandem of Jesse Perry and Solomon Hill for Arizona started to take over. The two forwards scored 19 of their 29 points in the game during the second half and had the Wildcats trailing by just three with 3:28 left on the clock.

Jones would again put those comeback thoughts to rest though, as he hit a tough runner in the lane and two free throws down the stretch to help seal the victory. “It’s a big win, our first Pac-12 win,” Jones said. “That’s what we talked about. We wanted to get our first Pac-12 win, so we could get a roll going. Hopefully, we can learn from this and continue to get wins.”

The victory was even sweeter for UCLA, as it came in the event that bears the name of their historic former head coach. Established in 1994, the Wooden Classic is an annual tribute to the legendary former coach (who passed away in 2010 at the age of 99) and the excellence he personified. The Bruins have won their last two Wooden Classic games and are now 11-4 in their 15 appearances at the event.

“It definitely felt special, just seeing the atmosphere,” David Wear said. “Knowing it’s the John Wooden Classic and his name is on the court, we definitely wanted to have a good appearance and get the win tonight.”

For Arizona, it was their first loss at the Wooden Classic. They were previously victorious at the event in 1996 , 2001 and 2004. The Wildcats also made it to the Elite Eight during the NCAA West Regional at Honda Center last season, before falling to eventual champion UConn.

Able to withstand a stiff test from Long Beach State, St. Mary's came away with an 82-74 victory in the first game of the 17th annual John R. Wooden Classic at Honda Center.

Mitchell Young scored a career-high 28 points for St. Mary's in a 82-74 win over Long Beach State.

Sophomore Mitchell Young, a 6-9 forward, came off the bench to scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Gaels in the victory. Senior guard Mickey McConnell tallied eight of St. Mary's final 12 points to finish with a total of 18.

"We tried to make them beat us inside and Young did that today," said Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson. "When the game was on the line, it was McConnell who was making the plays. They went to their guy."

Beginning with a 10-0 run to start the game, the 49ers held the lead for the majority of the game. Led by junior forwards Eugene Phelps and T.J. Robinson, who combined for 36 points, Long Beach State held the upper hand until McConnell hit a three-pointer with six minutes left in regulation to put his team up 65-64.

From there, the two teams briefly traded baskets before the Gaels pulled away for good over the final four minutes of play. The win improves St. Mary's to 9-2 in the early season, while Long Beach State's record falls to 5-7.

"It was a tough game," St. Mary's head coach Randy Bennett said. "We had a lot of respect for the team we were playing. We could not defend them for the longest period of time. Finally at the end, we were able to get some stops.

"We got shocked a little early. I was proud of our guys. We could have got frustrated, lost our composure and put ourselves in a deeper hole. We weathered the storm. We got back, took the lead and kept the lead."

With the 49ers clamping down early on St. Mary's guards, the Gaels turned to Young off the bench. One of four Australians on the roster, Young went 13-of-18 from the field for his total of 28 points. He also grabbed six rebounds in 29 minutes of play before fouling out with 42 seconds left.

"Mickey and Matt (Dellavedova) will find you," Mitchell said. "They are great guys. If you get open, they will get you the ball. We spaced it, moved the ball around and found the open guy."

T.J. Robinson, the reigning Big West Conference player of the week, led Long Beach State with 19 points.

It was the second straight close loss for Long Beach State, who fell on the road to North Carolina 96-91 one week ago. But much to Monson's pleasure, the 49ers are not simple pleased in keeping up with teams in the early season.

"We have a disappointed locker room and I’m happy about that," Monson said. "When you schedule hard like this, you worry about guys being happy with just being close with these teams. I don’t think we’re there. That is unacceptable. We played well enough in stretches to win this game. We just have to get more consistent."

This is the Gaels third appearance in the Wooden Classic in the last four years and each time the team has come away victorious. In both 2007 and 2008, St. Mary's walked away with close wins over San Diego State.

"It was such a good opportunity for our guys, and I have said this every year, to play in the Wooden Classic," Bennett said. "He’s maybe the best coach our country has ever had in any sport and you’re playing in his event. I want our players to understand that."

Playing in honor of their former coach, UCLA topped No. 16 BYU in the finale of the 17th annual John R. Wooden Classic.

Forward Reeves Nelson had a career-high 23 points for UCLA in a 86-79 win over No. 16 BYU in the Wooden Classic.

It was the first Wooden Classic held since the passing of the legendary coach earlier this year. He would have been 100 years old had he been present for the Bruins win.

Wooden would have been proud of the school he coached from 1948-75, as UCLA handed the Cougars their first loss of the 2010-11 season. The Bruins were focused all week on coming out strong in this game.

"I'm really happy to win this game, being it the first time we have had this with Coach not here with us," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "That was really important to our players. They really carried his memory. We played for Coach today. We really talked about that a lot. We wanted him to be proud of this team and I know he is."

Sophomore Reeves Nelson set a career high with 23 points in the Bruins win. The 6-8 forward surpassed his previous high of 21 in emphatic fashion. With 1:04 left in the game, Nelson drove to the rim and dunked over the outstretched arm of BYU forward Brandon Davies.

The dunk brought an already boisterous Honda Center crowd, heavily in favor of the Bruins, to its feet. The win improved UCLA to 6-4 on the season and was their first over a ranked opponent.

"We knew that this team was really good," Nelson said. "We had come close a couple of times against other really good teams, but we hadn’t come out with a win. We knew we had to play our best to win this game. It feels good to show that when we are at our best, we can beat anybody."

Jimmer Fredette, a preseason All-American, led No. 16 BYU with 25 points (17 in the first half) in the loss.

Preseason All-American Jimmer Fredette sparkled in the first half for BYU with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting (2-of-3 from three-point territory). But the senior guard could not find that same rhythm in the second half, going 2-for-7 from the field (0-for-5 from three) to finish with 25 points on the afternoon. He came in averaging 23.7 points per game.

"It's tough to handle," Fredette said. "You don't want to lose ever. It will be a good for our team to have to go through this adversity. I don't think anybody thought we would go undefeated."

A big point in the game came in the second half when Fredette picked up his fourth foul of the game. With the score 63-59 and 10 minutes left, Fredette drew a whistle on the offensive end and had to take a seat. Instead of cutting the lead to two on that possession, the Bruins proceeded to go up by eight less than two minutes later and never looked back.

"It was a big turnaround," Fredette said. "I was going into the lane and had Brandon wide open for a dunk. It would have been a two-point game. Instead they called a foul. It was my fourth and I had to come out of the game. They came down and scored a couple of times in a row. That was the turning point."

Foul trouble plagued both teams during the game, as several key players played close to the five-foul limit along with Fredette. Both Tyler Honeycutt and Joshua Smith played down the stretch with four fouls, but it did not stop the duo from being physical and ending the game with a combined 32 points and 16 rebounds.

"It was difficult because I was on a good streak of games where I wasn’t really getting into foul trouble," Smith said. When I picked up my third in the second, I knew the refs were going to call it tight. On my fourth one, I’m not going to lie I let that get to my head. I came to bench and was not too happy."

For the Cougars, Davies (fouled out on that Nelson dunk by Nelson) and Jackson Emery (four fouls) were fighting to stay in the game. The tandem played especially well in the second half when Fredette went cold, as they combined to score 29 of their 33 points on the afternoon in the final 20 minutes.

"Every game he is with us," said Joshua Smith of Coach Wooden. "We dedicated the whole week to this game. It feels good to win for him."

"They did a really good job of making it hard for our half-court offense, as far as sets we run," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "Most of the baskets that we scored tonight, guys had to make plays. But that is what good defensive teams do to you. We knew that going in. Jimmer was really good for us offensively in the first half. Jackson and Brandon adjusted in the second half and helped us."

Having the two-game afternoon at Honda Center end with a Bruins victory was the perfect way for UCLA to pay homage to the legendary coach who led them to 10 national championships. It was a rewarding win for those in the program who personally knew Coach Wooden and even those that did not.

"With me, I never got a chance to meet him," said Smith, a freshman. "I’ve heard a lot of things about Coach Wooden. When I was in eighth grade, I did a report on him and found out a lot about him. When he passed, it was sad. I was really looking forward to getting the chance to meeting him. Every game he is with us. We dedicated the whole week to this game. It feels good to win for him."

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