Veterans Step Up, Step on Bruins in Loss to Seton Hall : College basketball: Pirates use 11-2 run to finish off 73-64 victory over UCLA in preseason NIT semifinals.

NEW YORK — The bright lights of the big city shined on UCLA on Wednesday night, revealing a team that was talented enough to challenge a top-10 opponent but wasn’t ready to win against one of the nation’s elite.

The Bruins crumbled down the stretch against sixth-ranked Seton Hall, which got a game-high 27 points from senior guard Terry Dehere and won going away, 73-64, before 12,641 at Madison Square Garden in the semifinals of the preseason National Invitation Tournament.

Seton Hall will play Indiana in the final Friday night.

“We’re a young basketball team,” said UCLA Coach Jim Harrick, whose Bruins will play seventh-ranked Florida State on Friday for third place. “We’ve got mostly new guys, and they’ve got a veteran team. And down the stretch, it showed. Dehere probably was the difference in the game.”

Dehere, a two-time All-Big East selection, scored nine points in the last 2:47 as Seton Hall outscored the Bruins, 11-2, after a short hook shot by Mitchell Butler pulled UCLA even, 62-62, with 3:05 to play.

Dehere sparked the rally when he hit a three-point shot from in front of the Pirates’ bench with 2:47 to play.

“Somebody set a good screen along the baseline, and I got a good look at the basket,” said Dehere, who made seven of 15 shots--three of six from three-point range--and 10 of 11 free throws.

At the other end, Butler missed two free throws, a familiar sight on a night when UCLA made only 14 of 27.

Dehere, fouled by Butler away from the ball, made two free throws to put Seton Hall ahead, 67-62, with 2:07 to play.

At the other end, UCLA’s Richard Petruska was called for traveling.

Dehere, who made six consecutive free throws in the last 2:07, made two with 1:19 left to make it 69-62.

At the other end, Shon Tarver missed a three-point attempt, a familiar sight on a night when UCLA failed to make any of its 11 three-point shots, going scoreless from long range for a second consecutive game.

For UCLA, the game was lost.

“I think we have to give ourselves a great deal of credit (for taking over the game) down the stretch,” Dehere said. “A lot of guys on this team have been in this situation numerous times, and playing in these kinds of games can only help you.”

Seton Hall has four starters back from last season, when it was 23-9, won a share of its first Big East Conference regular-season championship and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament.

“We have more experience (than UCLA),” said Seton Hall Coach P.J. Carlesimo, whose team is favored by some to win the Big East title this season. “They lost three starters. We’re a more veteran team.”

But it didn’t show until the end, when UCLA faltered.

Ed O’Bannon scored 16 points to lead UCLA, which got 15 from Tarver, 12 from Butler and 10 from Tyus Edney.

Luther Wright, a 7-foot-2, 270-pound junior center who started only because Arturas Karnishovas is bothered by a knee injury, scored 13 points and took 10 rebounds for Seton Hall. Senior forward Jerry Walker scored 12 points for the Pirates, all in the second half.

“We’ll learn from this,” Harrick said. “We’re going to get a lot better. We’ve got a lot of room for improvement, and we’ll be a lot better down the stretch (of the season). We’ll be OK.”

Bruin Notes

This is the first of four East Coast trips for UCLA. The Bruins will play Georgia in the Georgia Dome at Atlanta on Dec. 19, at Pittsburgh on Dec. 28 and at Duke on Feb. 28. . . . Cultural elite: When UCLA players were given a choice of attending a Knick game or “Les Miserables” Tuesday night, only Tyus Edney and Ed O’Bannon opted for the musical. . . . Jonah Naulls, a walk-on freshman guard from Beverly Hills High and son of former UCLA All-American Willie Naulls, has quit the team, UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said. . . . UCLA freshman forward Kevin Dempsey was sidelined a second consecutive game because of tendinitis in his right knee and is not expected to play before Dec. 5, when the Bruins meet San Diego at Pauley Pavilion. . . . Seton Hall made 12 of 13 free throws in the last 5:13. . . . Edney made a career-high six turnovers.

INDIANA ADVANCES: Calbert Cheaney scores 34 points to lead No. 4 Indiana to an 81-78 overtime victory over No. 7 Florida State in the other NIT semifinal. C12