LOS ANGELES – If the Arizona Wildcats didn’t already have enough to play for Saturday at UCLA, coach Sean Miller gave them another in the second half.

But even though Arizona gained some initial momentum after Miller was ejected with 12:28 left, they ultimately fumbled away a 69-64 loss to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, their latest failure in late-game clutch late-game execution this season.

Arizona coughed up three turnovers in the final 1:49 to give away any chance at a late rally while the Bruins outscored the Wildcats 12-4 over the final 4:49 to win their seventh straight game.

That β€œwas obviously big,” said UA guard Nico Mannion, who led the Wildcats with 19 points and six assists. β€œYou turn the ball over and you can’t get a shot off. But it is what it is. We had a couple of bad ones at the end. I had one. We've just got to be better.”

The game was tied at 62 entering the final minute after Chris Smith scored twice near the basket, his second shot sandwiched by turnovers at the other end from Stone Gettings and Dylan Smith. Then UCLA guard Tyger Campbell threw in a layup as he fell backward on the left baseline, giving the Bruins a 64-62 lead with 49 seconds left.

On UA’s next possession, Max Hazzard was credited with the turnover when a pass from Mannion went off his legs and out of bounds, giving UCLA the ball back with 33 seconds. Jalen Hill was fouled, then hit both free throws to give UCLA a 66-62 lead and the Bruins hung on to two-possession leads the rest of the way by hitting free throws.

But while Mannion took part of the blame himself, so did associate head coach Jack Murphy, who took over for Miller when the Wildcats held a 48-47 lead.

β€œSome of the sets I called and some of the things I did as acting head coach, I probably made some mistakes,” Murphy said. β€œIt's not on the guys. They did a great job all the way getting us in that position. I have to help them when I'm in that position to finish it off and I just didn't do that.”

Murphy said he didn’t talk to Miller as he was being ejected but apologized to him afterward.

β€œI felt like I let him down and, as a Wildcat alum, let myself down,” said Murphy, the former head coach of NAU. β€œYou’re up four with two minutes to go -- you should be able to bring that one home.”

The Wildcats held a 62-58 lead until 2:12 remained, having surged somewhat after Miller’s possibly intentional ejection.

Miller was tossed in the second half for saying something to official Tony Padilla and walked off the floor calmly. He was much more visibly upset in the first half, when he argued extensively with the other two members of the officiating crew for what he believed was a foul on Cody Riley while defending a basket from Mannion.

Asked if Miller was purposely trying to get ejected, Murphy said:

β€œI’ll say this: After being a head coach for seven years, I don’t know if any technical are on purpose, but they certainly come from a good place,” Murphy said. β€œI just think tonight coach was in was in a good place when it came to what he was discussing with the official.”

After Miller went to the locker room, UCLA’s Chris Smith hit both ensuing technical shots, cutting UA’s lead to 47-46. The Wildcats then responded to Miller’s ejection by going ahead 52-46 after Christian Koloko dunked and Mannion hit a 3-pointer.

Another dunk from Koloko and a 3 from Dylan Smith later gave UA a 57-51 lead and a corner 3 from Max Hazzard gave UA a 60-56 lead with 4:39 left.

But then UCLA finished the final four minutes strongly and even after its final three turnovers, Arizona’s desperation attempts to win it were also flawed. Stone Gettings missed a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left and Zeke Nnaji missed the front end of a one-and-one with 11 seconds left – and after UA’s Christian Koloko rebounded the missed shot, he missed his ensuing putback attempt.

Download PDF Arizona-UCLA basketball

The Wildcats had plenty of reason for motivation Saturday. Among them was a 13-point loss to UCLA at McKale Center three weeks earlier, Miller’s ejection and the loss of starting wing Josh Green, who at home nursing a sore back.

There was also the fact that half of the Wildcats’ playing rotation has Southern California roots, including Hazzard, who was allowed to play Saturday after missing Thursday’s game with what UA called a β€œpersonal issue.”

Also, the standings mattered, too.

The loss dropped Arizona to 19-10 overall and 9-7 in the Pac-12, dropping into a three-way loss column tie for fifth place in the Pac-12, with only home games Thursday (against WSU) and Saturday (Washington) remaining. UCLA improved to 19-11 and 12-5, in a first-place loss-column tie with Oregon atop the Pac-12.

The Wildcats led 33-27 at halftime thanks in part to 12 points from Zeke Nnaji, but it was Mannion who heated up early in the second half. Over the first five minutes of the second half, Mannion hit all three shots he took, while hitting a 3-pointer and an and-one, helping Arizona keep pace and leading 43-37.

In the first half, Nnaji had 12 points and four rebounds to lead Arizona to a 33-27 halftime lead.

Arizona held UCLA to just 23.1% in the second half while outscoring them 18-4 in the paint, though the Wildcats made just 2 of 10 3-pointers. Mannion added eight points and two assists for Arizona.

Arizona took a 20-13 lead when Mannion stole a UCLA inbounds pass and made a layup. But Miller was called for his technical foul, first arguing with official John Higgins, who assessed the technical, and then turning to official Eric Curry for an appeal. UA assistant coaches surrounded Miller as he cooled down slightly.

Smith hit one of the two ensuing technical free throws and UCLA went on to take a 25-24 lead when Jules Bernard blocked Nnaji’s shot under the basket and then hit a 3-pointer on the other end.

But Arizona ran off six straight points at the end of the half, the last a jumper in the paint from Hazzard, to take a 33-27 halftime lead.

The Wildcats held UCLA scoreless for nearly five minutes at the start of the game but couldn’t take more than 5-0 and 8-7 leads in the first eight minutes because of their own shooting struggles. They went over three minutes without a field goal midway through the half while allowing UCLA to take a brief 7-6 lead on a short jumper from Smith.

But Gettings scored four straight points to give UA a 10-7 lead and after Hazzard made a layup on a goaltending call, Dylan Smith made it 15-7 with a 3-pointer. Nnaji also made a 3-pointer, his first since Feb. 20 against OSU, to give UA an 18-9 lead before Miller’s technical foul.

Check out more photos from Saturday night's game here:Β 

Become a #ThisIsTucson member! Your contribution helps our team bring you stories that keep you connected to the community. Become a member today.

Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at 573-4146 or bpascoe@tucson.com. On Twitter @brucepascoe