UCLA rides inside edge

TUCSON -- Suddenly it seemed Arizona’s destiny was to upset UCLA.

Six seconds left, a rebound fumbled out of bounds off the entwined fingers of Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook, a scrambling movement of Bruins defenders and Arizona’s acclaimed freshman Jerryd Bayless with the basketball, twisting his body between Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Darren Collison, propelled forward by the desperate cheers of the McKale Center crowd.

With a second left and his team behind by two points, Bayless flung the ball at the basket and for a second, before the ball clattered off the front of the rim, Love said it felt as if time had stopped. “That took a couple of weeks off my life,” Love said.

When time started again, this basketball game was over.

Fourth-ranked UCLA beat Arizona, 68-66, Sunday in a pivotal Pacific 10 Conference matchup. Despite losing an 11-point first-half lead, the Bruins (26-3, 14-2) kept a one-game lead over Stanford atop the conference because Love owned the area under the basket.

The 6-foot-10 freshman had 24 points and 15 rebounds. He made 10 of 11 free throws and had three blocked shots. Whenever the Wildcats grabbed the momentum, after a Chase Budinger three-pointer or a Jordan Hill hook shot, after Arizona had drawn to within a point, 62-61, there was Love, with his legs stretched out, his shoulders swinging, his blocky body filling the lane and clearing space.

“We did one of the better jobs we’ve done all season getting the ball inside,” UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. “And I thought Kevin responded well.”

This game had postseason meaning for both teams but in different ways.

The Bruins are eager to earn a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA regionals and keep themselves on a path of playing two games in Anaheim and a possible regional semifinal and final in Phoenix, something that may not happen if they don’t win the conference regular-season title.

The Wildcats are desperate to make the NCAA tournament for the 24th consecutive time. It was also senior day for Arizona, an emotional afternoon when Coach Lute Olson, who has been on a season-long leave of absence for undisclosed personal reasons, presented awards to the five seniors.

Olson didn’t speak to the media, but he spoke privately with the players. “It was the right thing to do, having him show up to give the seniors their awards,” Arizona interim Coach Kevin O’Neill said. The Wildcats (17-12, 7-9) need inspiration from somewhere.

They are in sixth place after the loss and need a sweep in Oregon this week to finish .500 in a league where no .500 team has received an at-large tournament bid.

Last month UCLA beat Arizona, 82-60, and led 42-22 at halftime. This time Budinger (24 points, seven rebounds), who missed his first six shots and was scoreless in the first 15 minutes, scored 12 points in the final five to draw the Wildcats to within 41-39 at halftime.

When Bayless had a dunk off a UCLA turnover with 18:02 left, Arizona led, 42-41, its first lead since Hill had scored to start the game. The Wildcats led by as many as four points, 47-43, and were within a basket, 67-65, after a Budinger layup with 50 seconds left.

A Westbrook free throw with 14 seconds remaining gave UCLA a three-point lead, and then came the helter-skelter finish.

With 6.4 seconds left, Bayless made a drive to the basket and was fouled by Love. Bayless made his first free throw and missed the second. Love and Westbrook grabbed for the rebound, and it was fumbled out of bounds.

Arizona senior Kirk Walters received the inbounds pass and had an open 15-foot jump shot staring at him because Mbah a Moute and Collison were running at Bayless. Walters passed to Bayless, who was left with nothing to do but take an off-kilter 18-footer.

“Kirk probably had an open shot,” Bayless said. “It was tough to get a shot off when you have four guys on you.”

Collison and Mbah a Moute made it seem like four.

Now the Wildcats are in “desperation mode,” according to Budinger. And UCLA is looking forward to a chance to clinch its third consecutive conference regular-season title with a victory over Stanford on Thursday.

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diane.pucin@latimes.com