LAS VEGAS (AP) — Senior Josh Sharma and junior Marcus Sheffield each scored 18 points as Stanford tried to feverishly come back from a double-digit deficit late against UCLA. The Cardinal came up just short, however, in a 79-72 defeat to the Bruins in the Pac-12 Tournament Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

The seventh-seeded Bruins (17-15) built a 26-point lead before Stanford started hitting shots in the closing minutes to pull within 69-62 on a Sheffield three with 1:12 remaining. 

Jalen Hill had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Chris Smith added 14 points for the Bruins.

The 10th-seeded Cardinal (15-16) struggled against UCLA's defensive pressure early, finishing at 35 percent from the floor and 7 of 25 from the 3-point arc.

The Bruins and Cardinal split the season series, each winning at home.

Neither team could get shots to fall early in the rematch, opening a combined 4 for 24. The Bruins started to find the range and hit eight of nine shots to build a 31-18 lead.

Hands had 13 points and UCLA led 36-22 at halftime.

Stanford had a scoreless drought of more than four minutes, shot 8 of 35 and went 1 for 11 from the 3-point line in the first half.

The trend continued early in the second half and UCLA went on a 12-2 run to build its lead to 57-31 midway through.

Stanford finally started hitting shots midway through the second half, but ran out of time.