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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — After squandering a 12-point first-half lead, No. 22 UCLA fought back down the stretch with big plays from guards Sebastian Mack and Skyy Clark to secure a 65-62 instant-classic rivalry win over No. 14 Gonzaga in the Intuit Dome Saturday.
“We knew it was going to be war,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “We knew they weren’t going to go anywhere. Although they’re ranked (No. 6) in KenPom, they really don’t have a big win outside of Baylor at home. … We knew they were coming to get us.”
The game’s intensity matched Cronin’s sentiment. Gonzaga guard Khalif Battle was ejected in the first half after he was tagged with a Flagrant 2 foul. UCLA forward Eric Dailey Jr. and Ryan Nembhard each received technical fouls after a brief scuffle. Neither team led by more than four points during the final 13 minutes.
Mack converted old-fashioned three-point play with 33 seconds remaining to give UCLA the lead for good. Nembhard missed a free throw after getting fouled on a layup that would’ve tied the game, then missed a half-court heave at the buzzer.
The win snapped UCLA’s four-game skid against Gonzaga, which included two NCAA Tournament losses in the last five years. In 2021, Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to eliminate UCLA in the Final Four. Two years later, Gonzaga guard Julian Strawther knocked down a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to seal a Sweet 16 win over the Bruins.
This time, it was UCLA’s turn to triumph in dramatic fashion. Dailey scored a team-high 18 points, while Clark flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. UCLA shot 12 of 24 from 3-point range but made just 8 of 31 attempts inside the arc in a game that featured only 52 total points at halftime.
UCLA’s win also avenged a heartbreaking 76-74 loss to North Carolina last weekend in the CBS Sports Classic. The Bruins led by as many as 16 points in the second half before the Tar Heels surged late. North Carolina led for just 50 seconds but walked away with the victory at Madison Square Garden.
“I was a miserable human for a couple of days after the Carolina game,” Cronin said. “But you have to be mature enough to realize even if you win, you have to get better. We have 18 Big Ten games left.”
UCLA missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Cronin’s tenure last season after going 15-17. This season, the Bruins are on track to return, with the possibility of a rematch against Gonzaga looming.
If that matchup mirrors what happened Saturday, college basketball fans are in for a treat.
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