UCLA
22-9,13-7Big Ten
USC
15-16,7-13Big Ten
Men's Basketball Beats USC, 90-63, in Regular-Season Finale
March 08, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's basketball team registered an emphatic win in its regular-season finale on Saturday night, beating crosstown rival USC, 90-63, in front of 12,018 fans at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Eric Dailey Jr. poured in a career-high 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting to lead UCLA (22-9, 13-7 Big Ten). Dailey Jr. finished as one of five Bruins to score in double figures. Skyy Clark added a season-high 17 points, while Aday Mara finished with 14, Tyler Bilodeau scored 12, and Sebastian Mack registered 10 points.
UCLA recorded its largest margin of victory over crosstown rival USC since a 34-point victory over the Trojans in Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 5, 2014. The Bruins won that matchup in 2014 by a 107-73 margin.
"I thought we played with tremendous conviction to our game plan," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "We had some egregious fouls in the first half, trying to foul guys that had no chance to score, and that becomes a discipline issue. Things like that are why teams win or lose championships. You can lose a championship by fouling a guy taking a hard shot, getting ready to shoot over a 7-3 guy. You don't reach in, but other than that, I thought our focus was unbelievable. Defensively, we made it extremely hard on them. We took away the things that they are the best at, which is going down the lane."
The Bruins shot nearly 62 percent from the field on Saturday, connecting on 37 of 60 shot attempts. UCLA shot over 60 percent in both halves. The Bruins were 10-for-22 from 3-point range. Dailey shot 4-for-5 from long distance in the win.
In addition, the Bruins dished out a season-best 28 assists. Dylan Andrews finished with seven assists, while Skyy Clark finished with six. UCLA's defense registered 20 turnovers, as season high for the Trojans, which yielded 37 points for the Bruins.
Wesley Yates III scored 21 points to pace USC (15-16, 7-13). Desmond Claude added 15 points. The Trojans momentarily cut their deficit to single digits to open the second half but never got any closer than 19 points over the game's final 17 minutes.
UCLA established a 14-2 lead right out of the gate in the first half, completing an 8-0 scoring run with 13:08 remaining. Bilodeau was responsible for eight of those points, making all four of his shots. The Bruins made nine of their first 11 shots and supplemented their offensive production with 11 turnovers forced.
USC cut down UCLA's cushion to 28-23, thanks in large part to Yates, who had four of the Trojans' eight first-half field goals and scored 15 points. Mara converted an old-fashioned 3-point play in the final seconds of the first half to help the Bruins enter the locker room ahead, 39-27, at the intermission.
The Bruins registered a 13-0 run in the beginning moments of the second half to open up a 52-30 advantage with 16:27 to go. Their lead would grow to as many as 36 points, when Trent Perry knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:37 left.
Clark (10 points, 4-of-4 FGs), Dailey (14, 6-of-8 FGs) and Mack (10 points) led UCLA's charge in the second half. They combined for 34 points and shot 13 of 15 from the field.
UCLA honored senior student-athletes Kobe Johnson and Lazar Stefanovic and their families in a pregame ceremony. Johnson, hailing from Milwaukee, joined the program as a transfer from USC prior to this season. Stefanovic, a native of Belgrade, Serbia, is in his second year with the Bruins since transferring in the summer of 2023 from the University of Utah.
UP NEXT: UCLA will play in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Big Ten Tournament on Friday, March 14. UCLA will play the winner of Thursday's game between No. 5-seed Wisconsin and the No. 12 and No. 13-seeded teams (No. 12 Minnesota, No. 13 Northwestern). Game time is set for 11:30 a.m. PT (2:30 p.m. ET). The Bruins' game on Friday will be televised live by Big Ten Network with Guy Haberman and Stephen Bardo on the call and Rick Pizzo serving as the sideline reporter.
The winner of the quarterfinal game on Friday will advance to the first of two semifinal contests on Saturday. The Big Ten Tournament title game is scheduled for Sunday, March 16. This year's tournament will take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
