UCLA
20-8,11-6Big Ten
Ohio State
15-13,7-10Big Ten
UCLA Pays Tribute to Bill Walton, Defeats Ohio State, 69-61
February 23, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – Eric Dailey Jr. scored a team-leading 20 points to help lead the UCLA men's basketball team past Ohio State, 69-61, in a Big Ten Conference game on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Dailey Jr., who sank 3 of 5 shots from 3-point range, helped Bruins' head coach Mick Cronin secure career win No. 500 in front of the Bruins' home crowd. Cronin currently stands as the youngest head coach (age 53) with at least 500 career NCAA victories.
The Bruins' victory took place on a memorable day in which UCLA's program honored the late Bill Walton, who passed away in May of 2024 after having battled cancer. A two-time NCAA champion with the Bruins in 1972 and 1973, Walton had been broadcasting UCLA's games for ESPN and the Pac-12 Network from 2012 until early in 2024. UCLA honored his family members on the court during a special halftime ceremony.
UCLA secured the win, improving to 20-8 overall and 11-6 in Big Ten action. The Bruins have reached the 20-win plateau for the fourth time in the last five seasons and have three regular-season games remaining.
"All wins are good wins," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "It's late February [and] the way the game was called, it was tough to make a layup early on. We overcame the way the game was called today. We overcame a lot of adversity, in my opinion. We got lifts from different guys, obviously in the second half, Eric had the first nine points, which extended the lead for us. Our passing was better in the second half so our offense was better."
Dailey Jr. was one of four UCLA players to score in double figures. Skyy Clark added 13 points, Sebastian Mack had 11 points and Aday Mara finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Kobe Johnson corraled a team-leading 13 rebounds and also had four assists and three steals despite making just one of eight shots from the field.
UCLA led Ohio State, 28-24, at halftime and never relinquished the lead in the second half.
Late in the second half, the Bruins stretched their advantage to as many as 13 points, at 61-48, with 3:09 to play. Ohio State (15-13, 7-10 Big Ten) pulled to within six points at the 1:08 mark. OSU's Bruce Thornton hit a mid-range floater to cut UCLA's cushion to 62-56.
Clark answered in a big way for the Bruins, sinking a deep 3-pointer with 41 seconds to play. Clark's 3-pointer helped UCLA put the game out of reach from Ohio State. Mack sank a pair of free throws with 83 second left, and Clark nailed two free throws for UCLA with 16 second to play.
Neither UCLA nor Ohio State the ball particularly well in the first half. The Bruins led Ohio State at the intermission, 28-24, having made just 11 of 34 shots (32.4 percent). Likewise, the visiting Buckeyes shot 31.7 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes (9-for-33).
UCLA closed the second half having shot 52.2 percent from the field and 4-for-7 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Thornton finished with a team-leading 21 points for Ohio State. Micah Parrish had 12 points as the Buckeyes' only other double-figure scorer. Parrish tallied a team-leading seven rebounds for Ohio State.
The Bruins, who have now won nine of their last 11 games, return to the road next week. UCLA will play at No. 14-ranked Purdue on Friday, Feb. 28, before playing at Northwestern on Monday, March 3. The Bruins' final home game is scheduled for Saturday, March 8, against USC.
