PHILADELPHIA — The face of UCLA basketball was bloodied, battered … and smiling.
It belonged to guard Skyy Clark, whose perseverance despite taking an elbow to the face captured everything about his team’s toughness in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Bruins were forced to play UCF without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau, who remained sidelined by a knee injury. They missed a slew of free throws in the final minutes. They struggled with backcourt pressure.
They had Clark on the court for only 19 minutes because of foul trouble and a chipped tooth that teammate Jack Seidler dutifully retrieved after Clark had taken an elbow to the face.
“Looks like a boxer,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said of a player who earned a late-night trip to the dentist. “Looks tough. In the locker room, smiling. There’s blood.”
Ultimately, it was the seventh-seeded Bruins who landed the knockout blow inside Xfinity Mobile Arena, a 75-71 victory over the 10th-seeded Knights once more revealing their late-season resolve.
UCLA (24-11) will play second-seeded UConn on Sunday after holding on when things got tight.
It wasn’t easy. Or free of late drama.
Once trailing by as many as 14 points, UCF pulled within three with 10 seconds left after Jordan Burks made a corner 3-pointer. The Knights (21-12) immediately trapped UCLA’s Trent Perry in the backcourt before fouling him.
Having already missed three free throws, Perry stepped back to the line. His first free throw bounced around the rim before falling through the net. His second was a swish.
The Bruins went back to the free-throw line after Themus Fulks’ driving layup pulled the Knights back to within three points.
The gap-toothed Clark missed the first free throw and made the second, essentially sealing the outcome with 2.3 seconds left. His team prevailed despite some rare inaccuracy from someone who entered the game making 86.3% of his free throws.
“Crazy stuff happens in March, like Trent missing three free throws,” Cronin said of the sophomore guard who made 7 of 10 from the foul line. “But I still want the ball in his hands and believe in him.”
UCLA also benefited from having the ball back in the hands of its star point guard.
Returning from the calf injury he suffered in the Big Ten Tournament, Donovan Dent logged a career-high six steals to go with 10 points, five assists and zero turnovers.
“I felt good,” Dent said. “It’s always fun being on the court, especially in March Madness.”
Dent had plenty of help. In one of his best games of the season, UCLA forward Eric Dailey Jr. collected 20 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.
Capably filling in for Bilodeau, Booker added a strong all-around effort with 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
A day after expressing confidence in his ability to play, Bilodeau suffered a setback in his recovery from the sprained right knee that had kept him out of the Bruins’ final 1½ games of the Big Ten Tournament. Cronin said Bilodeau woke up stiff, and the coach didn’t like the way he was moving in the morning shootaround.
“He wanted to play, and I said, ‘No,’ ” Cronin said. “You have to be responsible for the people underneath you and try to do the right thing.”
UCLA was out and running for much of the first half while snagging nine steals, including five by Dent. His fifth steal resulted in his throwing a lob to Dailey in transition for a dunk that gave the Bruins a 13-point lead.
Nearly every oddity was going UCLA’s way as it built a 35-27 halftime advantage.
UCLA guard Jamar Brown, stuck in a 4-for-24 shooting funk from long range, buried a corner 3-pointer. Bruins center Steven Jamerson II, not exactly known for offense, sank a tough turnaround jumper. UCF’s John Bol inadvertently tipped a ball into UCLA’s basket.
Most importantly, the Bruins overcame a horrid start in which they missed their first six shots to make their next eight. That they were doing it without Bilodeau made it all the more remarkable.
Cronin had arrived here in a jaunty mood, buoyed by his team having won six of its last eight games. On the eve of the game, Cronin had talked about eating at Dalessandro’s, the famed Philly cheesesteak joint, while preparing to try similar fare at Joe’s next.
“When in Philly, you don’t eat cheesesteak, you don’t show up,” Cronin cracked. “It would be un-American. Come on.”
Cronin entered this weekend with special incentive to win. Should his team advance to the East Region semifinals in Washington, D.C., he would get to spend time with his daughter, a freshman at American University.
He’s halfway there thanks to a team that refuses to lose, withstanding every blow.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
