PHILADELPHIA — After missing its first seven shots, things finally started to click for UCLA in its NCAA tournament opener against Central Florida on Friday night. The Bruins shook off their early jitters by hitting their next eight shots to quickly build a 13-point lead midway through the half.
From there, the seventh-seeded Bruins, playing without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau held off No. 10 Central Florida’s second half comeback bid in a 75-71 win.
UCLA will play the winner of No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 15 Furman on Sunday in the second round.
With Bilodeau out because of a sprained knee he sustained in the Big Ten tournament, 6-foot-8 guard Eric Dailey Jr. led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Xavier Booker, starting in place of Bilodeau, added 15 points and eight rebounds. Trent Perry also scored 15 points and Donovan Dent scored 10. Jordan Burks and Ryan Kugel topped the Knights with 22 and 13 points, respectively.
After a late UCF flurry cut a 14-point Bruins’ lead to 35-27 at the half, UCLA went back to work in the second half, with a Booker jumper helping UCLA take a 46-32 lead. But Central Florida wasn’t giving up.
The Knights responded with an 11-0 run, knocking down three from beyond the arc, making it a one possession game, 46-43.
That was as close as UCF got until the final seconds. A three-pointer by Burks with 10 seconds left made it a three-point game again. Perry then made two free throws before Themus Fulks quickly scored on a driving layup. Skyy Clark, who lost a tooth earlier in the second half while battling for a loose ball, then made one of two free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.
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