The start to the second half Saturday had all the makings of a streak-buster.

The 24th-ranked UCLA men’s basketball team had trouble taking care of the ball, had a key starter in foul trouble early in the half and struggled at the free-throw line in a contest against former Pac-12 rival Arizona that was being played roughly 90 minutes away from the Wildcats’ campus.

Instead, UCLA erased a 13-point second-half deficit and Arizona missed its final seven shots from the field as the Bruins grinded out a 57-54 nonconference win at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

UCLA (9-1) extended its win streak to eight games after Skyy Clark grabbed an offensive rebound and made a pair of free throws with 6.1 seconds left.

The Wildcats (4-5), who have lost three of their last four, got a look in the closing seconds but KJ Lewis’ potential game-tying 3-pointer was an airball.

Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau led the late charge, scoring 12 of his game-high 17 points in the second half. Clark added 15 for UCLA, which survived despite shooting 39.3% (11 of 28) from the field after halftime and 7 of 16 from the free-throw line for the game.

The Bruins will return home for a nonconference contest Tuesday against Prairie View A&M. Tip-off at Pauley Pavilion is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Video courtesy of Troy Hutchison at GOAZCATS.com:

Through the first 10 minutes, Clark surpassed his season high in points after accounting for 11 of UCLA’s 20 to get out to an early six-point lead.

Arizona turned the tables on UCLA late in the first half, using a 10-0 run to take a 26-24 lead. The Wildcats did so with effective pressure from 7-footer Henri Veesar on the Bruins’ in-bound passes to help force four turnovers during the stretch.

UCLA, which led by as many as eight points, recovered to take a 30-28 lead into the halftime break.

Inside the first minute of the second half, Bruins wing Eric Dailey Jr. picked up his third foul and was immediately summoned back to the bench.

Before the first media timeout of the half, Dailey picked up a fourth with still 16 minutes remaining and UCLA trailing 38-34.

UCLA was promptly outscored 13-2 immediately after Dailey’s fourth foul and trailed 49-36 with 10:49 left.

The Wildcats coughed up the lead after failing to make a shot attempt from the field over the final 8 minutes, 45 seconds.

It was all Bilodeau late when the rest of his teammates struggled. He made 6 of 12 shots in the second half while no other UCLA player had more than two made field goals.

The Oregon State transfer finished 8 of 15 from the field.

Johnson’s on-ball defense led to three steals and 13 deflections over 37 minutes.

His production was particularly important after losing Dailey early in the second half.

Johnson also tied for the game high with seven rebounds.

The Bruins got an early spark from Clark.

The Louisville transfer, who came in averaging 4.9 points on 34% shooting, made his first four shots — including three 3-pointers.

Ultimately, though, it was all made possible by the nation’s top scoring defense that limited Arizona leading scorer Caleb Love to seven points on 3-of-10 shooting.

UCLA owned a 27-15 advantage in points off turnovers. Arizona had 22 turnovers to UCLA’s 14.

Starters

PG Dylan Andrews: 4 pts on 2/4 FGs (0/2 3-ptrs), 0 assts, 3 TOs, 4 stls

G Skyy Clark: 15 pts on 5/9 FGs (3/7 3-ptrs), 3 rebs, 1 asst, 3 TOs

G Kobe Johnson: 7 pts on 2/6 FGs (1/4 3-ptrs), 7 rebs, 4 assts, 3 TOs, 3 stls

G/F Eric Dailey Jr.: 3 pts on 1/3 FGs, 2 rebs, 1 asst

F Tyler Bilodeau: 17 pts on 8/15 FGs, 3 rebs, 1 asst, 1 bulk

Bench

G Sebastian Mack: 6 pts on 3/7 FGs (0/4 FTs), 3 assts, 1 stl