PHOENIX—When Arizona doesn’t turn the ball over, good things tend to happen. But when it does, and it’s against the best turnover-forcing team in the country, bad things can—and did—happen.

The Wildcats committed 22 turnovers, leading to 27 points, and blew a 13-point lead in the second half to fall 57-54 to No. 24 UCLA on Saturday afternoon at Footprint Center. It was the UA’s first loss in Phoenix since 1942 and put it back below .500 on the season at 4-5.

In front of a very partisan crowd that included Mike Bibby, Terry Francona and Kevin Ginkel, the UA went the final 8:46 without a field goal, managing just three free throws during that span, and led 49-36 with 10:49 remaining before everything that could go wrong did.

Arizona was just 6 of 18 from the field in the second half, shooting 45.2 percent for the game, while UCLA (9-1) shot 45.1 percent. Only 13 of the Bruins’ 23 field goals didn’t come after a UA turnover.

Former Oregon State forward Tyler Bilodeau had 12 of his 17 points in the second half, including six in the game-deciding 11-0 run. Arizona was led by Jaden Bradley, who had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Trey Townsend had 10.

Arizona trailed 30-28 at halftime despite shooting better than 50 percent, its 13 turnovers leading to 16 UCLA points. A 3 by Caleb Love, after he missed one a few seconds earlier, gave the UA back the lead as part of a 6-0 run coming out of the locker room.

Love was 3 of 10 from the field and had seven points.

The Wildcats drew seven fouls in the first six minutes of the second half, getting into the bonus and making 9 of 10 free throws to lead 42-34 with 14:04 left. UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. picked up his third and fourth fouls during that span.

A 13-2 run gave Arizona a 49-36 lead with 10:49 left before the turnovers resurfaced, as four in a 3-minute span enabled UCLA to get back within single digits. It was still a 52-44 lead after KJ Lewis hit a free throw with 7:01 to go but what followed was five minutes of abject disaster for the Wildcats.

The UA missed is last seven shots, including a pair of ill-advised 3-point attempts from Henri Veesaar, and also turned it over three more with UCLA scoring on each during an 11-0 run for a 55-52 lead with 1:42 remaining.

Two Lewis free throws made it a 1-point game with 1:20 left, and Arizona forced a long 3 with under 10 seconds to go but UCLA’s Skyy Clark, who had 15 points, grabbed the offensive rebound and made two free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining.

Lewis’ tying attempt fell way short of the rim on the other end. The Wildcats were 2 of 16 from 3.

After scoring on its first two possessions, Arizona turned it over three straight times and UCLA capitalized on each occasion, setting the tone for the afternoon. The Bruins also got unexpected perimeter scoring from junior guard Clark, who came in averaging 4.9 points per game but hit three 3s in the first nine minutes and had 11 of their first 16 points.

UCLA built a 24-16 lead midway through the first half and maintained it for a few minutes before Arizona flipped the script and started converting Bruin mistakes into points. A 10-0 run that featured three dunks and six points off turnovers gave the Wildcats a 26-24 edge with 4:03 left in the first half.

The lead changed three times the remainder of the half, with UCLA leading by two at the break.

Arizona returns home for its final two nonconference games, starting with Wednesday’s matchup against Samford.