The 13th ranked Kentucky Wildcats fell to UCLA 63-53 in the CBS Sports Classic played at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, remaining winless over ranked teams this season.
The Bruins snapped the Wildcats four-game winning streak.
Kentucky erased a double-digit deficit, using a 10-2 run to tie the game at 38. After each team exchanged baskets, UCLA used a 6-0 run to take the lead for good.
Kentucky closed to within 55-53 with four minutes, thirty-one seconds remaining, but never scored again.
Chris Livingston led the Cats with a career-high 14 points and Sahvir Wheeler added 11 points and six assists, although he did commit six of UK’s season-high 18 turnovers. Oscar Tshiebwe was held to eight points, but he did grab 16 rebounds.
Kentucky, now 7-3, returns to action on Wednesday, hosting Florida A&M at Rupp arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
At New York
(CBS Sports Classic)
SCORE BY HALVES:
UC (10-2)……35 28 – 63
UK (7-3)……..27 26 – 53
Scoring:
UCLA (63) – Jaylen Clark 6 3-6 15; Amari Bailey 1 1-2 3; Tyger Campbell 7 1-1 15; Jaime Jaquez Jr. 9 1-2 19; David Singleton 1(2) 0-0 8; Kenneth Nwuba 1 0-0 2; and Mac Etienne 0 1-4 1. Totals: 25(2) 7-15 63.
Kentucky (53) – Jacob Toppin 2 1-2 5; OscarTshiebwe4 0-4 8; Sahvir Wheeler 4(1) 0-0 11; Antonio Reeves 0(2) 0-1 6; Cason Wallace 1(1) 2-3 7; Chris Livingston 3(2) 2-3 14; and Lance Ware 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15(6) 5-13 53.
Next up: Kentucky (7-3) vs, Florida A&M (2-7), 7 pm, Dec. 21.