Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 24 points, and UCLA withstood a second-half push from Northwestern to get back to the Sweet 16 with a 68-63 victory on Saturday night.

The second-seeded Bruins (31-5) turned up the defensive intensity late, holding the seventh-seeded Wildcats to 1-for-12 shooting during a key late-game stretch to seal the win.

The win was marred when David Singleton went down in extreme pain with a right leg injury with 20.3 seconds remaining. He stayed down on the court for a few minutes before getting helped off by teammates and going straight to the locker room. There was no immediate word on the extent of the injury.

UCLA made it to a third straight Sweet 16 for the first time in 15 years. The Bruins will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Gonzaga and TCU in the West Region semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday night.

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Amari Bailey added 14 points, and Tyger Campbell scored 12 for UCLA.

Boo Buie scored 18 points to lead Northwestern (22-12), Matthew Nicholson added 17 and Chase Audige scored all 16 of his points in the second half.

The Wildcats ended their second trip to the tournament in the same fashion as the first six years ago, losing in the second round.

They put up a good fight against the more tournament-tested Bruins and had a chance until going cold from the field late in the game.

The key moment came in the final two minutes when Adem Bona blocked a drive by Audige, sending UCLA out in transition. David Singleton hit the 3-pointer that put the Bruins up 62-56 with 1:50 to play.

UCLA controlled the game early, contesting nearly every shot and neutralizing Northwestern's high-scoring backcourt of Buie and Audige.

FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON'S EXPLICIT ABBREVIATION PUTS INTERNET IN FRENZY AFTER MARCH MADNESS UPSET

Jaquez fueled a 12-2 run midway through the half to build up an 11-point lead, getting a steal and dunk, followed by another dunk in transition following a blocked shot by Kenneth Nwuba.

Buie finally made his first basket of the game with a drive just before the buzzer to cut UCLA's lead to 35-25 at the break.

Audige got going in the second half with 14 points in the first eight minutes after being held scoreless before the break. The Wildcats tied it at 45 when Buie was credited with a basket on a goaltending call midway through the half.

The game remained close from there until the end.

BIG PICTURE

Northwestern: The Wildcats followed up their first tournament appearance with losing records for the next five seasons. Coach Chris Collins got them back into second place in the Big Ten in the regular season and now looks to build from there.

UCLA: Bona returned after missing the last two games with a left shoulder injury. He aggravated the injury on a dunk in the second half and went to the bench immediately but did return to the game and had the key block late. His presence will be key next weekend.

UP NEXT

UCLA is two wins shy of its 20th Final Four appearance.

Brandon Miller heated up, and so did Alabama, which avoided the fate of two other top NCAA Tournament seeds and brushed aside Maryland 73-51 behind a dominant second half on Saturday night.

The Crimson Tide (31-5) advanced to their second Sweet 16 in the past three tournaments and ninth overall. Alabama will face fifth-seeded San Diego State in the South Region semifinals in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday.

Before the game even tipped off two top seeds, Purdue and defending national champion Kansas, had gone down, and No. 1 seed Houston trailed Tide rival Auburn by 10 points at halftime earlier at Legacy Arena before pulling away.

Alabama and Miller got off to a slow start, but the All-America freshman and top NBA prospect wound up with 19 points after going scoreless in the first-round game. Miller is nursing a groin injury and missed his first nine shots of the tournament.

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Jahvon Quinerly scored 22 points on the one-year anniversary of his left knee injury early in a second-round loss to Notre Dame, which still limited him earlier this season. Quinerly made 4 of 6 3-pointers.

Charles Bediako had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Alabama's starters hit the bench with a couple of minutes left to chants of "Sweet 16" in the friendly crowd.

Julian Reese had 14 points for Maryland (22-13) before fouling out. Jahmir Young scored 12.

Alabama, the top overall seed, faced scant drama, unlike the other No. 1s.

FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON'S EXPLICIT ABBREVIATION PUTS INTERNET IN FRENZY AFTER MARCH MADNESS UPSET

 No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson toppled top-seeded Purdue 63-58 on Friday in only the second such upset. Then No. 8 Arkansas beat the Jayhawks 72-71 earlier Saturday. Houston ultimately pulled away from Auburn as the Tide waited for their opportunity.

The first half was more to Maryland's liking, other than the 28-23 deficit, for a team came in giving up just 63 points a game.

BIG PICTURE

Maryland: The 2002 national champion Terps failed to make their 15th trip to the Sweet 16 in coach Kevin Willard's first season. They also lost to Alabama in the second round two years ago under former coach Mark Turgeon. Maryland's defense was on point enough that it kept the lead for much of the first half despite a stretch of nine straight misses.

Alabama: Its depth has been on display so far. The Tide controlled the game despite not getting much scoring from starters Mark Sears and Noah Clowney or Nick Pringle, the star of the opening game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

UP NEXT

Alabama faces a San Diego State team making its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2004, which was also the year of the Tide's only Elite Eight run. The Crimson Tide have never reached the Final Four.