UCLA Almosts Chokes as Wagner Loses by 2

Unheralded Wagner College gave No. 12 UCLA all it could handle, and Bruins coach Ben Howland said it was no fluke.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored from underneath with 14 seconds remaining Wednesday night, lifting UCLA to a hard-fought 74-72 victory.

"I'm glad we got that win. That's a tough, hard-nosed team that came in determined to beat us on our home court," Howland said. "We were fortunate to come away with a victory."

Mbah a Moute made his only field goal of the second half after Jordan Farmar found him alone under the basket.

"It was an isolation for me," Farmar said. "I saw a man run at me. He was wide open, and I got him the ball."

Said Mbah a Moute: "I knew it was coming. I just got ready and finished it. And it was a great pass by Jordan."

Wagner was unable to get a shot off after that thanks to UCLA's hard-nosed defense. Mark Porter's wild 3-pointer from about 30 feet came after the final buzzer sounded, and wasn't close.

"Give them credit, they did a good job defensively on the last possession," Wagner coach Mike Deane said. "I thought we played well enough to win. It was a very disappointing loss, but they made the plays they needed to make in the last 30 seconds and we didn't.

"To be in position to win this game, that's a good statement. We were equal with UCLA tonight. For us as a program to compete at UCLA, it's a testament of how far our team has come as a program."

The win was the sixth straight for UCLA and its ninth consecutive victory at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins (9-1) are off to their best start in eight years.

Wagner (6-2) is off to its best start since the 1979-80 season. The Seahawks, members of the Northeast Conference, had their four-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the fourth time in 21 games dating to last January.