The UCLA Bruins made a valiant comeback effort after falling behind early, but ultimately fell 72-56 to the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational at Lahaina Civic Center in Hawaii. It was the third loss in four games this season for UCLA, whose only win came against Division II Chaminade on Monday night.
Kansas led by 20 points with 15:18 remaining in the game, but the Bruins went on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to pull within eight points. A trio of three-pointers, one by Tyler Lamb and two by Jerime Andersen trimmed the deficit to five points with eight minutes remaining, but UCLA was never able to get any closer.
The Jayhawks scored the final 11 points of the game.
Lamb led the Bruins with 15 points, making four of six three-point attempts. Reeves Nelson rejoined the living with 12 points and five rebounds for the Bruins. UCLA center Joshua Smith fouled out after just 19 minutes, limited to a single point and just one rebound.
The Bruins will battle the No. 15 Michigan Wolverines at 4:30 p.m. PST on Wednesday in the third-place game on ESPN2. Kansas will play for the Maui Invitational championship Wednesday against the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils.
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