University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
19-9,11-6Big Ten
USC
18-10,7-10Big Ten
Dent's 30-Point Effort Leads UCLA Past USC, 81-62
February 24, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ Donovan Dent scored a season-high 30 points to lead the UCLA men's basketball team past USC, 81-62, before a sold-out crowd of 13,659 in a Big Ten game at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial on Tuesday.
ย
Dent shot 10-for-16 from the field, totaling seven assists and no turnovers, and made his first five 3-point shots. The 6-foot-2 guard from Riverside, Calif., finished the game 5-for-6 from 3-point range, having knocked down a career-high five 3-pointers.
ย
Tyler Bilodeau had 13 points and a team-leading nine rebounds. Trent Perry finished with 13 points, three rebounds, four assists and a team-best four steals.
ย
After securing a 23-21 lead with 7:30 to play in the first half, UCLA (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten) never trailed against the visiting Trojans (18-10, 7-10 Big Ten). The Bruins took a 38-29 cushion into the locker room at halftime and led by nine points, 64-55, with eight minutes to go in the contest.
ย
UCLA closed the final eight minutes of Tuesday night's contest on a 17-6 scoring run to secure control of the game.
ย
Eric Freeny, who totaled a season-best seven points, nailed a mid-range jump shot with 7:13 to play to put UCLA on top of USC, 68-55. After the Trojans cut UCLA's margin down to nine points, Bilodeau hit back-to-back shots for UCLA at the 5:21 and 4:45 marks in the second half. The Bruins cushion ballooned to 17 points on a 3-point shot by Freeny with two minutes to play.
ย
Dent's efficient effort on Tuesday included a 19-point first half. The Bruins' senior point guard made 6 of 9 shots in the opening half and was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range before the intermission. He tallied six of his team-leading seven assists in the second half.
ย
UCLA secured its third consecutive win over USC in the long-time crosstown series. In all, the Bruins improved to 150-116 against the Trojans. UCLA has now won seven of its last nine meetings against USC. The two rivals will close their regular-season schedule against each other on Saturday, March 7.
ย
Before that contest, the Bruins have two games to play โ at Minnesota on Saturday, Feb. 28, and at home against Nebraska on Tuesday, March 3.
ย
USC's Chad Baker-Mazara finished with a team-leading 25 points and eight rebounds. Baker-Mazara was 8-for-16 from the field and connected on 5 of 9 shots from 3-point distance. Alijah Arenas scored 10 points as the Trojans' only other player to have scored in double figures.
ย
UCLA's game against Minnesota at Williams Arena on Saturday is set for 11 a.m. PT (1 p.m. CT, in Minnesota). The Bruins' contest at Minnesota will be nationally televised by FS1.
ย
