Turnovers and less-than-stellar perimeter shooting plagued the Spartans in a second straight loss in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Michigan State fell to UCLA, 63-61, to drop to 18-4 (9-2 Big Ten) this season. With the loss, the Spartans have dropped a half-game behind for the top spot in the Big Ten standings to Purdue.

Stat of the night: Michigan State turned the ball over 16 times compared to UCLA's three turnovers.

The Bruins scored 19 points off those turnovers. The Spartans also shot just 22.7% from 3-point range (5-for-22) in the losing effort.

Jaden Akins led the way for Michigan State with 15 points, four rebounds, and two assists. He was 6-for-14 from the field and 3-for-7 from 3-point range, but his missed 3-point attempt in front of the MSU bench as the game ended sealed the loss for the Spartans.

Jaxon Kohler added eight points while Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Xavier Booker and Carson Cooper each added six.

Despite the loss, Michigan State won the rebounding battle, 45-27, over UCLA. Cooper led the Spartans with nine boards. Kohler added seven rebounds and Frankie Fidler had six.

Here's how the game played out:

Michigan State opened the game with a starting five of Fears Jr., Tre Holloman, Akins, Jaxon Kohler, and Szymon Zapala.

The Spartans got off to a solid start with early 3-pointers by Fears Jr. and Akins. Holloman also made two mid-range jumpers to give Michigan State a 12-5 lead at the under-16 minute media timeout.

The Bruins followed that up with a 13-3 run to take an 18-15 lead.

Booker was an early standout for Michigan State. He led the Spartans with six points to go along with one block at the 8-minute mark in the first half.

The 3-pointers continued to rim out for the Spartans, as they went 3-for-12 from downtown in the first half. That helped propel UCLA to a 35-28 lead at halftime. In the final 14:10 of the first half, UCLA out scored Michigan State 27-13.

Skyy Clark gave the Spartans all sorts of problems in the first half, pouring in 13 points and shooting 2-for-5 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.

Turnovers were a big issue for the Spartans, especially late in the first half. Michigan State had eight turnovers through 20 minutes while UCLA only had two.

Booker led the Spartans with six points in the first half. Fears Jr. and Akins both had five points at halftime.

It was more of the same early in the second half for Michigan State. The Spartans had four turnovers in the opening four minutes and UCLA stretched its lead all the way to 11 points.

Michigan State held UCLA scoreless for nearly three minutes, though, to cut the Bruins lead to six points, 50-44, at the under-12-minute media timeout.

The Spartans continued to chip away at UCLA’s lead as Carr converted on an alley-oop.

Akins made his third 3-pointer of the game to cut the lead to five points and followed that up with a tough transition bucket. Akins was the first Spartan to reach double figures in the game and UCLA’s lead was down to two points, 54-52, at the under-8-minute media timeout.

Following two Cooper free throws, a Fidler transition layup, and a Fears free throw, the Spartans regained the lead for the first time since very early in the first half. Michigan State’s defense also stepped up as UCLA went on a cold shooting stretch.

UCLA retook a narrow 61-59 lead and forced a Michigan State timeout with 2:42 remaining in the game.

In the final minute, Kohler missed a hook shot, got his own rebound, but committed a traveling violation.

UCLA got the ball back and took a timeout with 22 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Eric Dailey Jr. made a contested bucket in the paint to take a 63-61 lead but Michigan State had one more chance with 7.5 seconds on the clock.

The final play was drawn up for Akins and the Spartans got him an open shot, but his 3-point attempt was just short.

UCLA picked up its sixth consecutive victory as Michigan State dropped the second game in a row in Los Angeles, following Saturday's 70-64 loss to USC.

Up next for the Spartans is a home game against Oregon on Saturday at Noon Eastern.

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