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A fortuitous fumble was the appropriate conclusion to what was certainly UCLA’s sloppiest victory of the season.

Trevor Ariza bobbled the ball right into the arms of Cedric Bozeman, who drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Bruins a 69-66 victory over Loyola Marymount Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.

“That was just how we planned it,” quipped UCLA coach Ben Howland after watching the Bruins fritter away a 14-point second half lead.

“We were fortunate to get the win. LMU did a great job of crawling back into the game, and we did a really poor job of understanding how to protect a lead.”

The Bruins (3-1) appeared to have their third straight home victory all sewn up before unraveling in the waning moments of regulation. A 55-41 advantage evaporated over the final seven minutes as UCLA hoisted up a slew of ill advised shots and seemed to lose its composure.

Three of the Bruins’ season-high 21 turnovers came in the final two minutes, the most costly of which was by Ariza, who was making his Bruin debut after suffering a collapsed lung in practice last month.

The freshman forward launched a three-quarters court pass too far for a streaking Brian Morrison, giving LMU possession of the ball trailing by just three points with under one minute to play.

Charles Brown capitalized on Ariza’s blunder, canning a 3-pointer from the corner on the ensuing play as the Lions (5-2) extended the game to overtime.

“That was the biggest mistake of the game,” Ariza said.

That says a lot considering the number of errors both teams made.

Friday was the last day of final exams for both UCLA and LMU, and each team seemed to be feeling the effects of a post-exams malaise.

The Bruins and Lions shot 24 percent and 32 percent respectively from the field in the first half as neither team converted a field goal attempt until nearly six minutes had elapsed.

But even an ugly win suits UCLA just fine, especially since there were quite a few bright spots that emerged from the performance.

Ariza looked comfortable in his return to the court, posting 15 points and 7 rebounds in 32 minutes of action. His comeback provided a boost for a Bruin bench that was held scoreless in its previous game against Kentucky.

The UCLA reserves contributed 23 points and 16 rebounds as the Bruins piled up a 54-37 advantage on the glass.

Perhaps the best news of the day for the Bruins came off the court with word that senior T.J. Cummings will likely be available to play Wednesday against UC Santa Barbara. Howland said that he’s “almost certain” Cummings, who has been sidelined all season due to academic trouble, achieved passing grades in all his classes fall quarter, making him eligible to return to the team immediately.

“We need T.J. back as soon as possible,” Howland said. “We’re a much better team with him on the floor.”

Cummings could be pressed into immediate duty against the Gauchos as starting center Michael Fey’s status for the game is in doubt. Fey was poked in the left eye late in the first half against LMU and taken to the emergency room for observation.

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