LOS ANGELES — Donovan Dent hit a go-ahead layup with 1 second remaining in overtime, lifting UCLA over No. 10 Illinois 95-94 on Saturday night after the Bruins rallied from a 23-point, first-half deficit.
Fans stormed the court in celebration at the buzzer. It was UCLA’s biggest comeback since rallying from 19 points down in a 90-83 victory over Oregon on Feb. 23, 2019, at home. And at a 23-point margin, according to ESPN Research, it was largest comeback to defeat a Top-10 opponent in AP Poll history.
«Obviously, a great college basketball game,» UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. «That’s the second team that’s come in here as the No. 1 offense in the country, and we got a win.»
Eric Dailey Jr. led six Bruins in double figures with 20 points. Tyler Bilodeau had 18 points and Trent Perry 17.
Freshman Keaton Wagler grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 4.9 seconds remaining to put Illinois in front, 94-93, before Dent capped UCLA’s comeback.
«The last play was frustrating. The one guy that can beat you, beats you,» Illini coach Brad Underwood said. «Needed to make him pass and a couple of guys got out of the way. That’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job of working on that situation.»
Neither team led by more than two points in the extra session.
Wagler had 19 points — making all eight of his free throws — eight rebounds and six assists.
The Bruins (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten) improved to 15-1 at home.
Making their first visit to Pauley Pavilion since 1997, the Illini (22-6, 13-4) were coming off a 36-point victory at Southern California, their largest in a Big Ten road game in 80 years, and had won 14 of 16.
«We did not run one thing we practiced the first ten minutes,» Cronin said. «Because we were rattled, because they were making shots.»
Xavier Booker’s basket, 60-58.
From there, the game was tied six times and the teams traded one-point leads.
Bilodeau hit a 3-pointer and Dailey made one of two free throws to keep UCLA ahead, 78-73.
The Illini outscored the Bruins 13-8 down the stretch, with Wagler making two free throws to tie it at 86-86. Dent missed a potential winning 3-pointer with 1 second left in regulation.
The Illini outrebounded the Bruins 43-27, including 20-8 on the offensive glass.
Ahead by three, the Illini ran off 20 straight points — hitting five 3-pointers — to take their largest lead, 33-10. UCLA missed 11 shots during its six-minute drought.
The Bruins outscored Illinois 33-17 to end the first half trailing 50-43. Booker had 10 points, Perry eight and Skyy Clark five in the spurt.
The victory capped an otherwise lackluster week for the Bruins. They were coming off road losses at Michigan (30 points) and Michigan State (23 points).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
