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UCLA takes on surprising Western Kentucky

Mar 27, 2008 - 2:07 PM No. 12 WKU (29-6) vs. No. 1 UCLA (33-3) 9:40 pm EDT

PHOENIX (Ticker) - UCLA looks to continue its run toward a third straight Final Four when it takes on underdog Western Kentucky in the West Regional semifinals on Thursday.

After rolling over Mississippi Valley State in the first round, the top-seeded Bruins (33-3) escaped with a 51-49 victory over Texas A&M in the second round on Saturday.

UCLA trailed by 10 early in the second half before rallying behind freshman Kevin Love and Darren Collison, who made the game-winning layup with nine seconds to play.

"Once that buzzer goes zero-zero, the time clock goes zero-zero, that's when we'll stop playing," Collison said. "We've been through that all season. Ever since I've been here we've been through adversity, especially in the tournament. So there's no quitting."

Collison finished with 21 points, while Love had 19, 11 rebounds and seven blocks in the win.

While many expected UCLA to reach the Sweet 16, the 12th-seeded Hilltoppers are making a surprise appearance in their first regional semifinal since 1993.

Western Kentucky needed a deep buzzer-beater from Ty Rogers to post a thrilling 101-99 overtime victory over Drake in the first round, and got past 13th-seeded San Diego, 72-63, in the second round on Sunday.

Tyrone Brazelton has averaged 24.0 points and Courtney Lee is scoring 22.0 points per game in the two contests for the Hilltoppers, who have made 22 3-pointers during the tournament.

The winner will move on to face either Xavier or West Virginia in the regional final Saturday.