Sun Devils fall behind early, can't come back at UCLA

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Josh Shipp broke out of a brief shooting slump with 21 points, freshman Kevin Love had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 5 UCLA overpowered Arizona State 84-51 Thursday night to hand the Sun Devils their fourth straight loss.

Shipp, who shot 5-for-18 including 2-for-12 from 3-point range in victories at Oregon and Oregon State last weekend, was 6-for-11 including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc against ASU before coming out for good with 10:32 remaining.

Derek Glasser led the Sun Devils (14-6, 4-4) with 13 points. Former Artesia High star James Harden, averaging a team-leading 18.8 points beforehand, was held to nine on 2-for-6 shooting.

UCLA shot 31-for-53 (58.5 percent) to ASU's 18-for-47 (38.3 percent) and outrebounded the Sun Devils 36-20.

UCLA took charge in the opening eight minutes. ASU, coming off a painful 56-55 loss to No. 9 Washington State, scored first on a basket by Jamelle McMillan before being outscored 18-2 to fall behind by 14 points. The Sun Devils weren't closer than 10 points after that.

It was 24-7 before Harden finally scored, hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the key midway through the first half. That triggered a 13-6 run that cut UCLA's lead to 30-20, but the Bruins responded with a 16-4 spurt, making it 46-24 at halftime.

The Bruins shot 60.7 percent to ASU's 32.1 percent, outrebounded the Sun Devils 20-13 and committed only three turnovers in a near-flawless first half.