LOS ANGELES — UCLA needed a major victory as it tries to build its NCAA tournament resume – and it got one.
The Bruins put up one of their best performances of the season to take down No. 4 Purdue, 69-67, for its first signature win of the season, and a massive one in the Big Ten.
It was all thanks to guard Donovan Dent, who broke out of a rough slump and showed all the reasons that made him such a highly-touted transfer out of New Mexico. UCLA coach Mick Cronin said he spoke with Dent earlier in the week about needing to ‘get in there and throw punches’ after the struggling performances at Penn State and Ohio State.
‘I had a little talk, he listened,’ Cronin said.
Dent picked apart the Purdue defense and was the catalyst in the offensive surge for a team that shot 56.9% from the field, finishing with a game-high 23 points and season-best 13 assists, his first double-double in more than a month.
‘He’s a player of the game,’ said Purdue coach Matt Painter. ‘There’s no question about that.’
While every dime brought out the energy for an electric home crowd, there was one no greater than the final one. With the Bruins down by one point, Dent drew two defenders off a screen that resulted in forward Tyler Bilodeau wide open. Dent dished it out to him and he drilled the game-winning 3-point shot with six seconds left.
Purdue had a chance to respond and tried to go for the win, but were unable to get the bucket when C.J. Cox’s 3-point shot bounced off the rim and the Boilermakers were unable to secure the rebound.
In a game that honored the legendary John Wooden – who played for Purdue and later was coach at UCLA – Purdue got out to a hot start, flipping the script from its past couple of games; it looked like the Boilermakers would cap off their West Coast trip in perfect fashion with a 12-point lead in the first half. The strong presence of Purdue fans inside Pauley Pavilion drowned out the home crowd.
Then UCLA turned it up a notch. With Dent leading the charge, the Bruins were blocking shots and the offense started knocking down shots, using a 17-5 run in the final seven minutes of the half to go in the locker room tied.
The second half remained close, with the lead and momentum going back-and-forth. But UCLA’s offense remained hot, shooting a whopping 65.2% from the field in the last 20 minutes. Thanks to some key buckets from star guard Braden Smith, Purdue again looked like it was closing in on a win when it grabbed a six-point lead with just under two minutes left.
However, Purdue couldn’t get more opportunities at the bucket to put the nail in the coffin. Two key turnovers resulted in UCLA baskets to close the deficit, punctuated by Bilodeau’s game-winning shot. UCLA ended the game on an 8-0 run.
It’s a much-needed win for UCLA as its tournament hopes were starting to fade thanks to some tough losses and no big wins on the season; the Bruins entered the night 12-6 with a 1-5 Quad 1 record. The win over Purdue dramatically boosts UCLA’s resume as it tries to live up to preseason expectations it would be a contender in the Big Ten.
Despite the big win, Cronin couldn’t help but throw a slight jab at the Big Ten for UCLA’s start to its conference schedule.
‘I want to thank the Big Ten for giving us five of our first seven on the road, and giving us the team picked to win the league on two days rest,’ he said. ‘I really wanna thank the Big Ten for that.’
Dent and Bilodeau were two of four Bruins that were in double figures. Smith finished with 12 points and four assists for Purdue, with Cox as the team’s leading-scorer with 16 points.
Purdue suffers its second loss of the season, snapping its nine-game win streak. It’s the first road loss for the Boilermakers.
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