UCLA men withstand late pressure to get an impressive victory over No. 9 Michigan State
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The winning streak lives on.
Barely.
After giving up all of its 11-point lead, UCLA fought back to make the big plays in the final minutes of an epic 63-61 victory over No. 9 Michigan State on Tuesday night at Pauley Pavilion.
Somehow, some way, the Bruins have won six games in a row.
UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. was the hero after he drove into the paint and banked in a tough, contested layup to give the Bruins a 63-61 lead with 7.5 seconds to go.
Michigan State called a timeout to set up a final play, which went to Jaden Akins. But his three-pointer bounced off the front of the rim and the Bruins (17-6 overall, 8-4 Big Ten) prevailed in unlikely fashion.
Skyy Clark scored 13 of his 14 points in the first half for UCLA, which also got 13 points from Tyler Bilodeau and won despite shooting 35% and making just seven of 28 three-pointers (25%).
Michigan State (18-4, 9-2) had the ball with a chance to take the lead in the final minute after UCLA’s Aday Mara missed a jump hook, but after the Spartans missed a shot and grabbed an offensive rebound, Jaxon Kohler was called for traveling with 24 seconds remaining.
With Tyler Bilodeau back from injury and Aday Mara continuing to be a difference-maker on the court, UCLA men’s basketball defeated Oregon for a statement win.
A back-and-forth game was tilting in UCLA’s direction with 2:42 to go after Clark whirled a cross-court pass to a wide-open Lazar Stefanovic, whose three-pointer pushed the Bruins into a 61-59 lead. The Spartans tied the score when Kohler collected a loose ball for a layup.
In an awkward development for UCLA, alternating chants of “Go green!” and “Go white!” filled Pauley Pavilion after Michigan State’s Xavier Booker blocked Bruins guard Dylan Andrews’ layup in transition and the Spartans added a Jaden Adkins layup.
When Carson Cooper made two free throws shortly thereafter, Michigan State had wiped out all of its 11-point deficit from early in the second half and the Spartans had all the momentum after scoring eight consecutive points. At one point, UCLA made just one of 11 shots and none in more than six minutes.
The crowd included UCLA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who went by Lew Alcindor when he played for the Bruins) behind one baseline and Michigan State great Magic Johnson behind the other, the longtime Lakers teammates divided on this night even if they did exchange a halftime hug.
The Spartans, coming off a six-point loss to USC over the weekend that was their first defeat since late November, were not feeling any better about themselves three days later.
Before Tuesday, UCLA coach Mick Cronin and Michigan State counterpart Tom Izzo had split their two meetings since Cronin became UCLA’s coach, the Spartans prevailing in the 2019 Maui Invitational and the Bruins in the 2021 NCAA tournament triumph that sparked their unexpected Final Four run.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin says Sebastian Mack has no fear, giving the Bruins an edge when they need Mack to make a tough play in crunch time.
Izzo might have contributed to that special journey given what he told Cronin inside Mackey Arena on the night UCLA rallied from 14 points down in the First Four game to beat his team in overtime.
“Your ass better not go to sleep,” Izzo said, alluding to the preparation needed for the next game.
In his first season on the job in Westwood, Cronin said he wanted to model his program after the way Izzo ran Michigan State, which won the 2000 national championship and has been to eight Final Fours under its current coach. To Cronin, Izzo represented integrity, toughness and developing players as people in addition to being skilled on a basketball court.
After undergoing a second consecutive massive offseason makeover, UCLA continued to reveal its in-season growth before an appreciative crowd in the game’s early going.
The place was rocking over the final minutes of the first half. With UCLA’s halfcourt defense forcing one turnover after another, the Bruins rolled off a 13-4 run to take a 35-28 halftime lead.
Mara was in the middle of almost everything his team did, blocking a shot, contesting several others and throwing several nifty passes, including one to Clark for a backdoor layup. Clark returned the favor when he threw a lob to Mara for a dunk.
Clark provided another highlight when he followed a crossover dribble with a three-pointer. With the Bruins in the midst of another big run, Izzo’s only move was to call timeout as Mara flapped his arms to get fans to increase the decibel level.
It would only get louder.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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