FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) Bryce Alford scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to pace No. 14 UCLA to an 82-71 victory over Nebraska on Friday night in the Wooden Legacy semifinals at Cal State Fullerton.
UCLA (6-0) will play Texas A&M in Sunday's championship game at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Alford made a 3-pointer with 1:02 left to give UCLA a 77-66 lead. He made all four of his free throws after that.
Isaac Hamilton scored 15 points and Lonzo Ball added 13 for UCLA. Center Thomas Welsh had his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Glynn Watson Jr. scored 27 points for Nebraska (4-1).
The Bruins led 38-25 at halftime and on the first play of the second half, Ball wowed the crowd as he converted an alley-oop pass from T.J. Leaf.
He had many more highlight-reel plays after that. Midway through the second half, he tried to convert an alley-oop pass that was just off the mark. It didn't fall, but he tipped in his own miss for the score.
Nebraska made just 10 of 35 shots in the first half for a dismal 28.6 shooting percentage. The Cornhuskers made just one 1 3-pointer and shot 12.5 percent from long range.
Nebraska cut the lead to 58-56 on a basket by Watson, but it would never get closer.
Ball left the game with four fouls for a 3:03 span but came back with 4:58 left in the game.
BIG PICTURE
Nebraska: The Cornhuskers lost for just the first time this season in playing one of the country's top teams. The third-place game won't be easy, but Nebraska has an extra day to prepare for Virginia Tech.
UCLA: The Bruins played on national television but perhaps didn't make many inroads with the East Coast audience as the game started at 12 a.m., EST. The Wooden Legacy championship game is at a much more viewer-friendly hour at 8:30 p.m. EST on Sunday.
UP NEXT
Nebraska plays Virginia Tech in the third-place game on Sunday.
UCLA gets one day off before playing in the championship game against Texas A&M on Sunday. The Bruins are playing in the final of the tournament named after Wooden, who won 10 national championships in Westwood.
