Phoenix — In the end, UCLA’s size in the post outlasted Western Kentucky University’s solid guard play.

After trailing by 21 points at the half, the Hilltoppers rallied to make it a four-point contest Thursday before the top-seeded Bruins held on for an 88-78 victory in a West Region Sweet 16 match-up in the NCAA Tournament at the U.S. Airways Center.

Kevin Love and James Keefe both turned in double-doubles for UCLA (34-3), combining to record 47 points and 26 rebounds, as the Bruins posted 50 points in the paint on the night. Both would block four shots as well.

WKU (29-7), the 12th seed in the region, was led by the duo of guards Tyrone Brazelton and Courtney Lee. Brazelton led all players with 31 points — the second time in the tournament that he has recorded more than 30 — while Lee chipped in with 18, eight rebounds and four steals. He ended up tying Jim McDaniels’ all-time scoring record on the Hill, ending his four-year career with 2,238 total points.

Keefe’s three-point play with 12-and-a-half minutes to go put UCLA up 56-38, but the Toppers would score nine unanswered points to get back into the contest. Brazelton stole a pass and fed Lee for a layup to begin the charge, and A.J. Slaughter followed 40 seconds later with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 13. Slaughter was then fouled at midcourt after a steal and converted both ends of a one-and-one before Brazelton took over.

The senior would score each of the Hilltoppers’ next 12 points, connecting on four free throws before back-to-back threes 23 seconds apart drew WKU within six with 7:26 remaining. When WKU forced a Bruin turnover, he ended a 19-5 run with a layup with 6:57 left that made the score 61-57.

He would end up with 25 points after the break.

After trading scores, Lee stole a Russell Westbrook pass and found Slaughter open on the wing for a three-point shot in from in front of the Topper bench — the ball rimmed out with just over five minutes remaining, and UCLA would answer with a 7-0 spurt to hold on for the win. After two free throws from Keefe — who finished with career highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds — Josh Shipp hit a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to put the Bruins up 68-59 with four-and-a-half minutes to go.

Love finished the run with an offensive rebound and a putback. He collected a career-best 29 points and added a game-high 14 rebounds, which included 12 after the break.

The Bruins will face third-seeded Xavier — a 79-75 overtime winner over No. 7 seed West Virginia — in the Regional Final Saturday for a berth in the Final Four.

“We’re really proud of our guys’ effort to battle back the way they did. This group has had tremendous character and shown great toughness all year long,” said WKU head coach Darrin Horn. “We just dug ourselves too big of a hole in the first half. Obviously, our press changed the tempo of the game and got us some easy baskets — we started making some of the shots that we didn’t in the first half, and it changed the game.”

“Western Kentucky did a great job of speeding up the game in the second half,” Bruin head coach Ben Howland stated. “We did a poor job in the second half at times in our shot selection when we were up 15, up 17, up 18. And we gave them the ball back when they would come down and score.”

The Toppers were even with the Bruins through eight minutes, tying the score 13-13 when Brazelton knocked down a three from the right corner with just over 12 minutes remaining. But, they would connect on just two of their last 21 attempts from the field before the break, ending the half shooting 18.8 percent.

UCLA took command of the contest with a 10-0 spurt over a four-minute and 15-second span, with Westbrook contributing six points and Love adding four.

Westbrook posted 14 points, a career-high-tying 11 rebounds and five assists, giving the Bruins a third double-double.

Jeremy Evans’ layup with four minutes to go made the score 30-17, but UCLA would close the half on an 11-3 run to build its biggest lead of the night as it would take a 41-20 edge into the locker room. Shipp contributed five of those points, finishing the night with 14 on 5-of-9 shooting.

While the Toppers’ 20 points before the break were the fewest they have scored in a period this year, the 58 after intermission were the most they posted in a half. WKU would end up shooting 34.7 percent for the game after hitting at a 47.5 percent clip over the final 20 minutes, and it more than doubled the Bruins’ output from beyond the arc after making nine three-pointers.

But, after outrebounding the Hilltoppers by two before the break UCLA would end up winning the battle of the boards 51-36. The Bruins overcame a season-high 19 turnovers by connecting on 50 percent from the floor.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute collected seven points and seven boards for UCLA.

Brazelton was 6-of-10 from three-point range, finishing 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc in the tournament, and he paced the team with five assists. Lee led the team in rebounding and all players in steals, and he was also credited with three of the Toppers’ four blocked shots. Boris Siakam recorded seven points and seven rebounds, while Slaughter posted seven points, three assists without a turnover and two steals. Evans chipped in with six boards as well.

WKU limited Darren Collison to only four points, two rebounds and an assist before he fouled out, forcing him into 1-of-6 shooting as well as four turnovers.

The Hilltoppers conclude the season one win shy of matching the school record after winning 19 of their final 21 outings.