This post was updated on March 19 at 1:48 p.m.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thirty minutes before UCLA’s second-round NCAA tournament game against Southern Methodist University, No. 14-seed University of Alabama-Birmingham upset No. 3-seed Iowa State, paving a much easier path to the Sweet 16 for the Bruins.
But for that path to be realized, No. 11-seed UCLA first had to pull off an upset of its own. At halftime, UCLA leads No. 6-seed SMU 34-30.
UCLA struggled at the start of the game, committing three turnovers in the opening two minutes. From that point on, though, things began to heat up.
A pair of layups from freshman forward Kevon Looney and a 3-pointer apiece for sophomore guards Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton gave the Bruins a 10-5 with 14:38 remaining in the half.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from SMU guard Nic Moore quickly negated that lead, putting the Mustangs ahead 11-10. The two teams traded leads the rest of the half, the Bruins relying on 3-pointers and the Mustangs getting the ball in the paint.
UCLA ratcheted up its defense as the half wore on, dropping SMU down to 34.5 percent shooting by halftime.
The Bruins gained some separation at the end of the half as Alford buried a corner 3-pointer to put his team ahead 30-27 with about two minutes remaining. Senior guard Norman Powell hit a pair of free throws to bump the lead to five, but another 3-pointer from Moore cut UCLA’s advantage to just two.
A layup just before the buzzer gave UCLA a four-point advantage heading into halftime.
Alford led all scorers with 12 points, all coming on 3-pointers.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.