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UCLA tops Stephen F. Austin for Sweet 16 berth

Mar 24, 2014 - 3:03 AM San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jordan Adams had 19 points, Norman Powell scored 16 and UCLA moved on to the Sweet 16 for the first time in six years with a 77-60 win over Stephen F. Austin on Sunday.

Kyle Anderson added 15 points for the fourth-seeded Bruins (28-8), who will face No. 1 overall seed Florida in the South Region semifinals in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday.

Thomas Walkup scored 22 points, Desmond Haymon had 17 and Nikola Gajic added 10 for Stephen F. Austin. (32-3).

The Lumberjacks, one of several Cinderella stories to come out of the second round, beat VCU in overtime on Friday for the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.

They had won 29 games in a row since their last loss Nov. 23 to East Tennessee State.

"I'll say what I told the team: I couldn't be prouder," said Lumberjacks coach Brad Underwood. "We didn't have a great year, we had a year for the history books ...

"A 29-game winning streak, they don't know how good that really is. That's very, very special."

UCLA took the lead for good with an 8-0 run in the first half to break a 12-12 tie -- although it didn't build a comfortable cushion until midway through the second half.

The Bruins, who boast 46 NCAA Tournament appearances and a record 11 national titles, have won five games in a row, including a victory over Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament final and Friday's 76-59 win over Tulsa.

They reached the regional semifinals for the first time since 2008, when they earned their third straight Final Four berth under former coach Ben Howland.

Current coach Steve Alford, who took New Mexico to the tournament three times, is in his first year with the Bruins.

"It's a big accomplishment," said Anderson, "and we have had a good overall season but our work isn't done. They don't hang Sweet 16s up in Pauley (Pavilion) so we have to take it one day at a time and prepare for Thursday and get ready to play."

Stephen F. Austin, champion of the Southland Conference, was making its second appearance in the tournament. It had a couple of two-point leads early in the first half, one after a Haymon 3-pointer and another on a Walkup layup.

The Lumberjacks trailed by 10 at halftime but were within single digits as late as 4 1/2 minutes into the second half.

An 8-0 run led by Travis Wear pushed the Bruins' lead to 17 with 12 minutes remaining and Stephen F. Austin was never closer than 13 the rest of the way while UCLA's advantage climbed as high as 20.

Game Notes

The Bruins shot 54.7 percent and the Lumberjacks shot 35.1 percent (they were 7-for-27 on 3-pointers) ... Adams and Walkup each had 12 points in the first half ... Stephen F. Austin lost to Syracuse 59-44 in the 2009 tournament.