University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
21-9,12-7Big Ten
Northwestern
16-14,7-12Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 34 | 39 | 73 |
| Northwestern | 35 | 34 | 69 |
Men's Basketball Outlasts Northwestern, 73-69
March 03, 2025 | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Tyler Bilodeau scored a team-leading 19 points to help lead the UCLA men's basketball team past Northwestern, 73-69, in a Big Ten Conference game on Monday evening at the Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern.
Aday Mara recorded his second double-double of the season, totaling 11 points and 10 rebounds. Mara also had three blocks. Eric Dailey Jr. finished with 12 points and Skyy Clark registered 10 points and a team-leading seven assists.
UCLA (21-9, 12-7 Big Ten) led Northwestern by a 68-54 margin with under three minutes to play. Northwestern (16-14, 7-12 Big Ten) went on a significant scoring run in the game's final two minutes. The host Wildcats cut down UCLA's lead to 68-67 with under 25 seconds to play. The 13-0 scoring run by Northwestern included three Bruin turnovers over a stretch of two minutes and 20 seconds.
Northwestern had the ball, trailing UCLA 69-67, and was unable to score with 21 seconds to play. Northwestern's Nick Martinelli had the ball stolen under the hoop by UCLA's William Kyle III. Kyle III corralled the ball and gave it to Kobe Johnson, who flung a pass down the court to a striding Eric Dailey Jr. With eight seconds left, Dailey Jr. drew an intentional foul on his way to shoot. The sophomore made both free throws to put UCLA ahead, 71-67, and the Bruins successfully inbounded the ball to Clark.
Clark sank both free throws with under eight seconds to play, giving UCLA a 73-67 advantage. Northwestern sprinted down court, trailing by six points, and the Bruins were whistled for a foul under the basket with just 0.1 seconds left in the game. Martinelli made both free throws before the game's final buzzer sounded.
UCLA outrebounded Northwestern by a 38-24 margin on Monday, in what marked the Bruins' final road game of the regular-season schedule. The Bruins tallied 13 offensive boards, while the Wildcats finished with four. Monday night's matchup featured 14 lead changes and seven ties.
Postgame Reaction: Coach Cronin | A. Mara and T. Bilodeau
"We're trying to be a team that can win in March," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "We weren't tough enough at Purdue to get the job done defensively. We had this team at 54 points in their own gym with two minutes left. I thought our attention to detail was bad. You can't tell me you care if you forget what you're supposed to do, because we go over it more than anybody in scouting."
UCLA trailed Northwestern, 35-34, at halftime and built a six-point cushion (52-46) with 10:35 to play after Mara threw down a tip-in dunk. Leading 54-50 with eight minutes remaining, the Bruins surged ahead with a 14-4 scoring run. UCLA had pushed its advantage to a game-high 14 points, at 68-54, with 3:07 to play when Dylan Andrews drove to the rack and fed the ball to Bilodeau for back-to-back slams.
The lead changed hands five times in the second half. After the lead had flipped back and forth over the first nine minutes in the second half, Mara had two bucks in a row to help UCLA recapture the lead at 45-44. The 7-foot-3 sophomore added two more bucks in quick succession to push the Bruins ahead, 52-46.
The first half featured nine lead changes and four ties, as the two squads traded buckets throughout the majority of the half. UCLA sank six 3-pointers in the half as Dailey Jr. hit both of his attempts from bonus distance, and tallied a team-high eight points in the first half.
Northwestern took its first lead of the game with 8:44 remaining in the first half. K.J. Windham hit a 3-point basket from the wing to push the Wildcats ahead, 22-21.
The Bruins cashed in on their first two shots of the night with Bilodeau and Clark setting the tone as the Bruins took a 5-0 lead in the opening minute.
UCLA improved its all-time record to 6-1 against Northwestern, with three of those victories taking place in the past 11 seasons.
The Bruins' regular-season finale is on deck this Saturday evening. UCLA will host crosstown rival USC on Saturday, March 8, at 5 p.m. (PT) inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The Bruins' home game will be nationally televised on FOX. Prior to tip-off, UCLA will recognize two senior student-athletes, Kobe Johnson and Lazar Stefanovic, who will be playing in Pauley Pavilion for the final time.
