Fri Mar 28 00:54:13 2008

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Love powers top-seeded UCLA into Elite Eight

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Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Freshman Kevin Love scored a career-high 29 points as UCLA survived against Western Kentucky, 88-78, and advanced to the West Regional final.

Love added 14 rebounds for the top-seeded Bruins (34-3), who recorded their 97th NCAA tournament win and advanced to the Elite Eight for the third straight season.

James Keefe added 18 points and 12 boards for UCLA, which will now face the Xavier Musketeers on Saturday with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Xavier edged West Virginia in overtime earlier on Thursday.

Josh Shipp chipped in with 14 points, while Russell Westbrook had 13 for the Bruins.

Tyrone Brazelton finished with a game-high 31 points and was 6-of-10 from three-point range for the 12th-seeded Hilltoppers (29-7), who were taking part in their first Sweet 16 game since 1993. Courtney Lee netted 18 points and eight rebounds.

The Bruins entered the final frame with a more than comfortable 21-point advantage but lost their focus and let Western Kentucky climb back in the game.

Brazelton buried a three and then converted a layup to cap an impressive 19-5 run to draw the Hilltoppers within four, 61-57, with 6:57 left.

Love finally stemmed the tide with a layup just over a minute later and UCLA steadied itself from there. Keefe matched a pair of free throws by Lee before Shipp drained a three and Love put back a Keefe miss to give the Bruins a 70-59 edge with 3:53 on the clock.

UCLA then made enough free throws in the final minutes to secure things.

The Hilltoppers hung in during the early moments of the game and actually deadlocked things at 13 when Brazelton stroked a three with 12:06 left in the opening frame.

But, UCLA took over from there with its dominant, stingy defense. Love fueled a 10-0 run by getting loose for a layup and Westbrook finished the spurt with a layin of his own to make it a 23-13 game with 7 1/2 minutes remaining.

The Bruins kept pulling away from there and took their first 20-point cushion after Shipp deposited a layup with 54 seconds left until intermission.

A three-point play by Keefe then sent UCLA to the locker room with its largest lead of the half, 41-20.

Game Notes

Keefe's double-double was the first of his career...UCLA is 97-34 in the NCAA tourney. The 97 wins are the second-most all time to Kentucky (100)...Western Kentucky is 18-20 all-time in the tournament...This was the first ever meeting between the two clubs...This was the 31st time in school history that the Bruins played in a Sweet 16 contest...UCLA's 34 victories this season is the most in school history, snapping the team's previous record of 32 set during its 1995 National Championship run.