Malcolm Lee scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half and UCLA defeated Southern California 64-50 Wednesday night for its sixth win in seven games.
The Bruins (15-7, 7-3 Pac-10) stopped a four-game skid against their crosstown rival with a split of the season series. Joshua Smith added 15 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points and Alex Stepheson added 14 for the Trojans (12-11, 4-6), who have dropped two in a row and five of seven. The two big men were held to single-digit rebounds.
UCLA led nearly the entire first half, then fell behind by one point early in the second before pulling away down the stretch. The Bruins earned the first double-digit lead of the game when Lee hit two free throws to make it 57-47 with 4:15 remaining.
