LOS ANGELES -- Arizona took its lumps against UCLA last season, losing three times to its Pac-12 rival. Shoes NZ Nike . Those defeats stuck in the minds of the Wildcats, especially when they let a commanding lead slip away in the latest matchup. Nick Johnson scored 22 points and the top-ranked Wildcats withstood UCLAs late 15-1 run to beat the Bruins 79-75 Thursday night, equaling the best start in school history at 16-0. "Were undefeated and well keep it like that if we can keep churning out wins and not worry about who our opponent is or how special it is, and just play our game," Johnson said. The Wildcats (3-0 Pac-12) blew a 13-point lead with 6:16 to play and committed a season-worst 17 turnovers. UCLA shot 41 per cent in the second half against a team that had been holding opponents to 36 per cent in the final 20 minutes. "Losing to them three times last year definitely made us more hungry," said Gabe York, who had 12 points. "None of us forgot that." Johnson added: "It was definitely a chip on my shoulder." Kaleb Tarczewski made all six of his field goal attempts and scored a career-high 16 points for the Wildcats in the lone regular-season meeting between the longtime conference powers. The 1931-32 Wildcats also began the season 16-0. "Our common goal is to get to the national championship," York said. "We dont really talk about it. We take it one game at a time and I think thats whats giving us a great record right now." Freshman Zach LaVine hit a 3-pointer that got UCLA to 77-75 with 15 seconds left, but he missed another one with 2 seconds to go that would have left the Bruins down one. "We knew they were going to make their run," Johnson said. "We couldnt blow them out really, but we just tried to respond when they made their run and we did." Kyle Anderson had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Jordan Adams added 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Bruins (12-3, 1-1). They havent beaten a top-ranked team since March 13, 2003, when they took down Arizona in overtime in the Pac-12 tournament. UCLAs other two losses came against Missouri and Duke. "Being down to a very good team, we did a good job of fighting back," Anderson said. "Im not one for moral victories, but we did fight hard." Buoyed by loud chants of "U of A" in sold-out Pauley Pavilion, the Wildcats pulled away to a 12-point lead midway through the second half after UCLA kept it close in the first 20 minutes. Arizona starters Aaron Gordon (16 points), Brandon Ashley (nine points) and T.J. McConnell (eight points) all played with four fouls in the second half. Johnsons dunk gave Arizona its largest lead of the game, 68-55. Thats when the Bruins reeled off a 15-1 run, including 13 consecutive points, to take their last lead at 70-69. Adams hit a 3-pointer for a 68-all tie. He, Anderson and Bryce Alford combined to outscore the Wildcats, who made just one free throw during that stretch. Alford finished with 12 points. "Being down one was a little bit nerve-racking, but Coach Miller is a really good coach," Gordon said. "He gathered us and said, OK, stick together, its really time to come together and just stick with and just do what wed been doing the whole game. Its a process and just stick to Arizona principles." The Wildcats were limited to one field goal over the final 1:27, when they went 8 of 10 from the free throw line to hang on. "Gabe York and Aaron Gordon making those four free throws at the very end really solidified things," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "Thats not easy to do if youre Gabe because he came in off the bench, and those are two huge free throws." The Bruins 79 points were the most scored by an Arizona opponent this season. They missed five straight free throws before their big run. "They were huge," Anderson said. "Thats something we can fix." Arizona controlled the boards, 37-36, as it has done in all 16 games so far. Arizona led 42-38 at the break, hitting three 3-pointers over the final 2:56, when UCLA twice tied the game. Retired Lakers coach Phil Jackson and Clippers coach Doc Rivers attended the game, along with former Bruins Baron Davis, Jordan Farmar and Ryan Hollins. Injured Lakers guard Steve Nash, actor John Lithgow, who sat with Jackson, and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea were there, too. Shoes NZ Sale . -- Phil Hughes ended a personal losing streak that dated to last July, pitching into the seventh inning Sunday and helping the Twins top the Kansas City Royals 8-3 to avoid a three-game sweep. Shoes NZ From China . PAUL, Minn. https://www.shoesnzonline.com/ .J. -- Tom Coughlin doesnt have many options at halfback for the winless New York Giants.Despite a stunning late-season collapse that cost the Toronto Maple Leafs a playoff spot, general manager Dave Nonis believes Randy Carlyle is still the right man to lead the club. The Maple Leafs handed their embattled head coach a two-year contract extension on Thursday, while at the same time announcing that assistants Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon will not be back. "It was important for us to make it clear that Randy has the support needed to move forward," Nonis said on a conference call. "He has done a lot of good things for us and we expect him to continue that with some new assistants." There had been rampant speculation that Carlyle would pay with his job after a disastrous end to the most recent campaign saw Toronto tumble out of post-season contention thanks to an embarrassing 2-12-0 finish. Instead, Nonis and new Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan gassed Carlyles staff in hopes that some new voices can help the 58-year-old get the most out of Torontos underachieving roster. "If youve seen it being done before with most of the same players, or a lot of the same players, and with that coach leading that group, I know it can happen," said Nonis. "I know it has happened with this group before. I know that (Carlyle) has reached them before, reached them at times this year. "For me its not that were guessing whether or not he can have success or he can get through to them. Weve seen it. I know that its there and we feel he is the guy that can get through to this group." Carlyle -- who led the Maple Leafs to their first playoff appearance since 2004 in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season -- had Toronto sitting second in the Atlantic Division this year before the wheels fell off in mid-March. "We feel that this group can continue to grow into a higher level of a hockey club," said Carlyle. "We just have to find and continue to push for a little bit more from the individuals and we are going to do everything we possibly can to change some of the things that are happening with our group." Despite calls from fans and media alike in Toronto for Carlyles dismissal, Nonis said he wasnt swayed by how the decision might play in the hockey-mad city. "If youre worried about optics in this market, its going to be a disaster," said Nonis. "I think you have to make a decision based on what you think is the best decision for the organization, and this in our minds was clearly the best option. "He was a guy we believe can get the job done for us. Whether optics are that its the wrong thing to do or not doesnt really matter to us. If youre looking at trying to please people, youre probably going to make some poor decisions." The Maple Leafs started the 2013-14 season on a 10-4-0 run, but Carlyle worried at the time that his team was getting away with sloppy play in the defensive zone. Going into and coming out of the Olympic break, the Leafs were rolling despitte being badly outshot on most nights. Wholesale Shoes NZ. When they beat the Kings in Los Angeles on March 13, they were in second place in the division. But starting goaltender Jonathan Bernier aggravated a groin injury that night, and though it was not considered serious at the time it proved to be devastating. James Reimer lost five straight and was pulled March 23 against the New Jersey Devils before Bernier returned and lost three more. The final night of that losing streak, March 29 against the Detroit Red Wings, was effectively the death knell for Torontos playoff hopes. "This hockey club has proven at times to be able to compete to a higher level," said Carlyle. "The consistency of our compete in our defensive zone coverage was the area of concern right from the opening month of the season. We harped on it, harped on it, harped on it, yet we were winning with it." Nonis made it clear that it was managements decision to clean out the assistant coaches. Carlyle had worked with Farrish since their days with the Anaheim Ducks, winning a Stanley Cup together in 2007. "Its a tough day and those are tough ones," said Carlyle, who also played junior hockey with Farrish. "The game of hockey is a great game, but the business side of hockey is an awful one. This is an awful day in our life, for our relationship between Dave Farrish and myself." Nonis said that Carlyle would be consulted on the new assistant coaches, but added the decisions will be a collaborative effort. Carlyle led Toronto to the playoffs last spring, but that run ended in disaster when the Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals after blowing a three-goal, third-period lead in Game 7. "I think that we showed for periods as a group last year and the year before that what the team is capable of it -- that we have the ability to compete with top teams," said Nonis. "Why we got away from that at times, I think thats something were going to focus on over the course of the summer to put some answers there." Carlyle replaced the fired Ron Wilson in March of 2012, months after the Leafs previous coach signed a new contract extension. He went 6-9-3 to finish out that season and then 26-17-5 in 2013 season. In parts of three seasons with Toronto, the Sudbury, Ont., native has a combined record of 70-62-16. Nonis said its easy to blame a coaching staff and management when things go south, but added that the players also have to take a lot of the responsibility for a season that went off the rails so dramatically. "Our players have to be committed to do the things we did the year before that made us successful. The blame has to be spread around all of us," he said. "I think that were going to come back in the fall and the players are going to know that this coaching staff is committed to doing the things that we need done to be successful and they are going to have to perform." ' ' '