Donovan Dent played his best basketball of the season, Tyler Bilodeau hit a clutch three pointer with eight seconds and the gutty UCLA Bruins united to pull off a stunning upset of No. 4 Purdue Tuesday night at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin spent much of the past month pleading with his team to play with greater intensity and consistency. The team delivered enough to earn a signature 69-67 win at home as fans were split between backing the Bruins (13-6, 5-3 Big Ten) and Boilermakers (17-2, 7-1).
The second half shootout was commanded by Dent, who finished the game with a double-double — 23 points and 13 assists. Purdue was nearly perfect from the free-throw line, but turnovers in the final minutes helped seal the Boilermakers’ first Big Ten loss of the season.
Purdue led 67-61 with 1:56 left. Dent hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit, then Trent Perry stole a bad pass by Purdue’s Braden Smith. Eric Dailey Jr. hit a layup cut the Bruins’ deficit to one point with 1:05 remaining.
After a Boilermakers timeout, UCLA got the ball back after Purdue’s Smith threw the ball away and the Bruins called a timeout. Dent received the inbound pass, found Bilodeau on the perimeter and he nailed a three pointer to give the Bruins a 69-67 lead with eight seconds remaining. UCLA took another timeout to set up its defense and Purdue’s C.J. Cox missed a 26-foot three point jumper at the buzzer to seal the Bruins’ biggest win of the season.
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