PHOENIX — UCLA can make a double-digit victory look difficult.

With Kevin Love scoring a career-high 29 points, the Bruins nearly frittered away a 21-point halftime lead and hung on to defeat Western Kentucky, 88-78, in the NCAA West Regional last night.

Top-seeded UCLA (34-3) will play No. 3 seed Xavier tomorrow for a trip to its third consecutive Final Four.

The Bruins were more relieved than happy to survive the Hilltoppers, who took advantage of UCLA's sloppy play to pull within four points late in the game.

"Unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable," Love said. "That's all I can say.

"It was unacceptable the way we played in the second half. If we're going to keep playing like that, we're not going to be in this tournament very long."

The Bruins routed overmatched Mississippi Valley State in the first round but haven't resembled a No. 1 seed since. They sweated out a two-point victory over Texas A&M in the second round.

"That was another exciting game for all the Bruin fans out there," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "We want to keep you guys awake and on the edge of your seat."

Without Love, the Bruins would be in hibernation already. Love had 14 rebounds and hit 10-of-14 shots from the floor.

Love had help from James Keefe, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs. Russell Westbrook added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Keefe, a sophomore who has battled back from shoulder surgery last August, played sparingly most of the season.

"I mean, this is why I came back, you know?" Keefe said.

Tyrone Brazelton scored 31 points — 25 in the second half — and Courtney Lee added 18 for 12th-seeded Western Kentucky (29-7).

"We just dug ourselves too big of a hole in the first half," Western Kentucky coach Darrin Horn said. "I'm unbelievably proud of my team."

Early on, the Bruins looked primed for a blowout, blitzing the Hilltoppers with a 23-4 run midway through the first half.

UCLA led 41-20 at halftime, but Western Kentucky wouldn't go away. The Hilltoppers began pressing, and the Bruins started to unravel. They had 12 turnovers in the first 15 minutes of the second half and finished with 19, a season high.

WESTERN KENTUCKY (29-7)

Magley 1-2 0-0 2, Evans 2-3 0-1 4, Brazelton 10-21 5-7 31, Rogers 2-6 1-1 5, Lee 7-29 2-3 18, Gabou 1-1 0-0 2, Slaughter 1-4 4-6 7, Howard 0-0 0-0 0, Mendez-Valdez 0-1 2-2 2, Siakam 1-4 5-6 7, Frazier 0-0 0-0 0, Pettigrew 0-1 0-0 0, Maresca 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-72 19-26 78.

UCLA (34-3)

Shipp 5-9 2-4 14, Mbah a Moute 2-4 3-4 7, Love 10-14 9-12 29, Westbrook 3-15 7-8 14, Collison 1-6 1-2 4, Aboya 1-1 0-0 2, Keefe 7-9 4-5 18, Mata-Real 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-58 26-35 88.

Halftime—UCLA 41-20. 3-Point Goals—W. Kentucky 9-24 (Brazelton 6-10, Lee 2-8, Slaughter 1-3, Mendez-Valdez 0-1, Rogers 0-2), UCLA 4-9 (Shipp 2-3, Collison 1-2, Westbrook 1-2, Love 0-2). Fouled Out—Collison, Siakam. Rebounds—W. Kentucky 36 (Lee 8), UCLA 51 (Love 14). Assists—W. Kentucky 12 (Brazelton 5), UCLA 17 (Westbrook 5). Total Fouls—W. Kentucky 24, UCLA 22. A—18,103.

XAVIER 79, WEST VIRGINIA 75

PHOENIX — In a span of 48 critical seconds late in overtime, B.J. Raymond made more 3-pointers than the entire West Virginia team did all night.

He went from "non-factor" to nonplussed, calmly knocking down two long-range jumpers that lifted Xavier past coach Bob Huggins' Mountaineers last night in a West Region semifinal.

Third-seeded Xavier (30-6) rallied from a six-point deficit in overtime, and will seek its first Final Four appearance when it plays UCLA tomorrow.

Raymond, who scored all eight of his points in overtime, hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Musketeers ahead 75-74 with 1:18 to play. He then shook loose on an inbound play, took a crosscourt bounce pass from Stanley Burrell and made a 3 with the shot clock expiring for a 78-74 lead with 30 seconds left.

"I was kind of a non-factor for the first 40 minutes," Raymond said. "I knew when I got back in there, I had to make something happen."

The second 3 was the dagger.

Huggins said his defense clogged up the intended play but "somebody fell asleep" to allow the wide-open 3.

Josh Duncan scored a career-high 26 points despite foul trouble to lead Xavier.

Joe Alexander scored 18 and had 10 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Mountaineers (26-11) .

WEST VIRGINIA (26-11)

Butler 7-15 1-1 16, Alexander 8-18 2-4 18, Smith 3-8 2-4 8, Nichols 1-6 4-4 6, Ruoff 6-11 2-3 14, Thoroughman 0-0 1-2 1, Mazzulla 2-7 6-9 10, Talkington 0-0 0-0 0, Smalligan 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-66 18-27 75.

XAVIER (30-6)

Duncan 7-15 9-10 26, Brown 3-4 2-4 9, Anderson 6-12 0-2 12, Lavender 3-11 0-0 9, Burrell 3-7 1-2 8, Raymond 3-5 0-2 8, Jackson 1-1 0-0 3, Love 2-4 0-1 4. Totals 28-59 12-21 79.

Halftime—Xavier 32-25. End Of Regulation—Tied 64. 3-Point Goals—West Virginia 1-11 (Butler 1-4, Alexander 0-1, Mazzulla 0-1, Ruoff 0-2, Nichols 0-3), Xavier 11-19 (Duncan 3-4, Lavender 3-6, Raymond 2-4, Jackson 1-1, Burrell 1-2, Brown 1-2). Fouled Out—Alexander, Anderson, Brown, Smith. Rebounds—West Virginia 38 (Alexander 10), Xavier 41 (Anderson, Love 10). Assists—West Virginia 16 (Mazzulla 5), Xavier 16 (Lavender 7). Total Fouls—West Virginia 21, Xavier 25. A—18,103.

— By Bob Baum