No. 12 UCLA Defeats Eastern Washington, 80-74

Monday, November 3

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:30 PM (PT)

UCLA

1-0,0-0Big Ten

Eastern Washington

0-1,0-0Big Sky

Eastern Wash.

UCLA

Donovan Dent

Photo by: Scott Chandler

No. 12 UCLA Defeats Eastern Washington, 80-74

November 03, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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LOS ANGELES - The No. 12-ranked UCLA men's basketball team defeated Eastern Washington, 80-74, in the season opener at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial on Monday evening.

The Bruins (1-0) are now winners of six of their last seven season-opening contests under head coach Mick Cronin.

Four UCLA players scored in double figures, led by Donovan Dent's dazzling debut, scoring 21 points and nine assists in his first outing in the Blue and Gold.

Tyler Bilodeau used a strong second half to finish with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting while Xavier Booker tallied 14 points and Skyy Clark contributed 10.

As a team, the Bruins shot 47.1 percent (33-for-70), made 8 of 26 attempts from three-point range. UCLA out-rebounded its opponent 35-30, with Booker leading the way with seven boards on the night, also standing out in his debut for the Bruins.

For Eastern Washington (0-1), Isaiah Moses paced the offense with 15 points while Alton Hamilton IV (13 points) and Straton Rogers (12 points) also reached double-digits. Johnny Radford led the Eages on the boards with eight rebounds in addition to his eight points.

UCLA opened the second half with a decisive 14-6 run, when Dent found Booker underneath the basket for a slam, then Bilodeau followed with a triple to quickly stretch a seven-point halftime lead to 15 by the under-16 media timeout.

Booker found his rhythm, pouring in 10 quick points to reach double figures. But Eastern Washington responded with a 4-for-5 shooting stretch, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers, to cut the deficit back to single digits.

Dent halted the Eagles' momentum with his first three-pointer of the night, then set up Bilodeau for another from deep, forcing an Eastern Washington timeout at the 10:18 mark in a stretch that gave UCLA a much-needed cushion.

Bilodeau stayed hot, scoring 14 of his 19 points after the break, including two second-half threes to anchor the Bruins' offense. The Eagles made one final push, trimming the lead to six in the final minute, but Dent's late bucket sealed the 80-74 win and kept UCLA in control down the stretch.

In the first half, Clark knocked down a pair of early threes and Dent followed with back-to-back buckets to spark UCLA's strong start. Eastern Washington responded, keeping the margin tight at 17-15 by the under-12 media timeout. Clark accounted for eight of the Bruins' first 14 points.

Dent briefly reclaimed the lead for UCLA with a three-point play, but a 1-for-9 shooting stretch allowed the Eagles to pull ahead with 11:08 left in the half. Dent then took control, scoring nine of UCLA's next 11 points to push the Bruins back in front, 25-22, with 6:12 remaining. During that stretch, the UCLA defense clamped down, holding Eastern Washington without a field goal for nearly three minutes.

Bilodeau buried a three for his first points of the night, sparking a personal 5-0 run capped by a mid-range jumper in the lane to extend the lead to seven. Booker then tipped in a miss at the buzzer to send UCLA into the locker room up 40-33.

Dent paced UCLA with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and handed out six assists in the opening half.

The Bruins remain at home for their next contest, hosting local foe Pepperdine on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. (PT) inside Pauley Pavilion. The game will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network.