WESTWOOD, Cal. – No. 2 UCLA used a late rally in the second half and carried that momentum into overtime to knock off No. 4 Villanova Friday evening, 86-77. The Wildcats had crafted a 60-50 lead midway through the second half before the Bruins used tight defense and timely scoring to force an extra period. UCLA outscored Nova 19-10 in those five extra minutes.
 
Jermaine Samuels led Villanova with 20 points while Collin Gillespie added 18. Justin Moore contributed 14 points before fouling out in the second half. Eric Dixon chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds.
 
"That was a great college basketball game," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "They hurt us on the offensive glass and we put them on the foul line too much. There are a lot of plays that you can look at but the thing that jumps out in the boxscore is their 13 offensive rebounds.
 
"They're a really good team. In a game like this against that kind of opponent, it's all the little things. They gutted those out and we didn't."
 
UCLA moved out to a 6-2 lead in the first three minutes of action as Villanova found the offensive sledding tough early. The Wildcats were just 2-of-10 from the floor over the first 4:14 and were down by a bucket at the first official timeout.
 
A short while later Moore, who led Villanova with 27 points in its season opening win over Mount St. Mary's Tuesday, was whistled for his second foul. He headed to the bench.
 
The Wildcats defense helped it stay close even as its offense searched for a rhythm. UCLA connected on 5-of-16 field goal attempts in the first 8:27 but stretched its advantage to 11-6 before a Caleb Daniels dunk gave Nova its fourth field goal of the half.
 
UCLA, though drained 3-pointers on consecutive possessions and moved its lead to 17-8 with 10:36 on the clock. Moore returned to the floor with the two fouls.
 
Part of Villanova's challenge on offense was that the Bruins kept the 3-point shooting that had produced 16 made threes in the season opener to only four attempts in the game's first 11 minutes. The Wildcats did not convert its first until Samuels drained one from the left wing after more than 12 minutes of action.
 
Dixon's interior offense helped Villanova survive seven consecutive made field goals midway through the period. It trailed 23-17 with 7:04 to go until halftime. After a pair of Gillespie free throws, Villanova was down 23-21. The VU run ultimately grew to 16-2, giving the 'Cats a 30-265 lead. But a 7-0 burst by UCLA over the final 1:57 allowed the Bruins to take a 32-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The bulk of that late damage came after Moore went to the bench after picking up his third foul at the three-minute mark.
 
Gillespie led the Wildcats with 12 first half points while Dixon contributed six points and six boards.
 
The second half looked markedly different from the first as both teams heated up the offense. Moore returned to provide an offensive boost and got help from Samuels, Gillespie and Brandon Slater. UCLA got its offense into high gear too, thanks largely to the work of Johnny Juzang, who caught fire in the first 7:46 of the period, scoring 11 points in that stretch.
 
Villanova held a 49-48 edge as the game clock dipped below 12 minutes. Fueled by the 3-ball, the Wildcats pushed that margin to 60-50 at the 9:24 mark of the second half. But UCLA's defense stymied VU for much of the remaining time in the second half. A Jules Bernard basket tied the game at 67 with 30 seconds left but the 'Cats couldn't score in the final possession of regulation and the game shifted into extra time.
 
UCLA continued to stifle Villanova and quickly built a 74-69 lead. It held off the Wildcats the rest of the way.
 
"This was a great atmosphere," stated Wright. "It was great just to practice here. You can just sense all the history. Practicing here is awesome so playing here is even better."
 
Villanova returns to action on Tuesday evening at Finneran Pavilion when it plays host to Howard. That one is slated for 6:30 p.m. (FS1 and Villanova IHeart Radio Network).