Monmouth surprises UCLA 84-81 in overtime

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Collin Stewart scored 19 points and made all six of his free throws, including the go-ahead ones with 18 seconds left in overtime, to help Monmouth surprise UCLA 84-81 Friday night in the teams' season opener.

Justin Robinson added 16 points and Micah Seaborn had 14 points for the Hawks, who rallied from 13 points down in the second half to force overtime.

Bryce Alford scored 22 points and Tony Parker added 19 points and 19 rebounds for the Bruins, who opened their 50th season of basketball at Pauley Pavilion with an embarrassing loss under third-year coach Steve Alford.

The Hawks were poised throughout the game, calmly erasing the double-digit deficit midway through the second half. They outscored UCLA 21-7 to take a 61-60 lead, with Stewart scoring eight points, including two 3-pointers, in the spurt.

Alford brought the Bruins back with 10 straight points to lead 70-66. But the Hawks outscored UCLA 7-3, with Stewart making two free throws to tie the game 73-all and force overtime.

Alford airballed a 3-point attempt with 29 seconds to go in regulation.

In overtime, UCLA led 80-75, helped by six straight free throws from Parker and Alford. From there, the Hawks outscored the Bruins 9-2 to close out the upset. Monmouth did it all on free throws, going 9 of 10 from the line over the final 1:49, when Parker fouled out.

The Bruins overcame a ragged start in which they were 4 of 18 with nine turnovers and trailed by six points in the game's opening 11 minutes. Parker got them going, scoring four straight points in an 8-0 run that gave UCLA a 22-20 lead.

UCLA outscored Monmouth 12-6 to end the first half leading 34-30.

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