For the second time this season, the Washington Huskies had an opportunity to complete comeback attempt and walk out with a win against the UCLA Bruins.

For the second time, this time on Thursday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, the Huskies' comeback attempt fell short and the Bruins defended their home court in a 77-73 victory.

Washington fell to 12-12 on the season and 4-9 in Big Ten play with the loss.

Similar to the first game between the two teams this season, which UCLA won 82-80 on Dec. 3, the Huskies began the game with a lead they couldn't ultimately hold on to.

Washington led 20-12 with 12 minutes, 44 seconds left in the first half. Twelve of the Huskies' points were scored by sophomore guard Wesley Yates III.

Yates finished the game with a team-high 21 points on 9-for-17 shooting and added one rebound, one block and one steal.

Unlike the first contest between the two sides, Washington was able to survive a run from the Bruins and the former went into halftime with a 34-30 lead.

The Huskies preserved their lead for the first five minutes of the second half and were in front 45-40 with 15:46 left in the game.

UCLA responded with a 9-0 run and was in front 49-45 with 12:37 left in the game.

Despite the thin advantage, Washington was unable to tie or take the lead for the rest of the game.

The Huskies got within one possession of the Bruins several times but were unable to get that crucial last bucket to tie or retake the lead. With 5:50 left in the game, a Yates layup cut the team's deficit down to 60-58.

Washington stayed within two possessions several times in the final minutes via intentional fouls, but missed three of their last five shot attempts.

The Bruins were able to make six free-throws in the final 36 seconds to maintain their two-bucket lead, which resulted in the final.

Huskies freshman forward Hannes Steinbach put up 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals; senior guard Quimari Peterson scored 12 points, dished seven assists and had two steals; and sophomore center Lathan Sommerville had 10 points and a rebound.

Peterson's seven assists was tied with sophomore guard Zoom Diallo, who also added seven points and three rebounds.

Washington will next be in action against Penn State at 7:30 p.m. PT on Feb. 11 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

Remember to join our HUSKIES on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Washington fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!