UCLA avoids late scare in 75-71 NCAA tournament first-round win over UCF
· Yahoo Sports
PHILADELPHIA — Trent Perry stayed at UCLA for moments like these.
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After averaging just more than 11 minutes, three points and logging zero starts for the Bruins last season, he could have left. And he wouldn’t have been criticized for it. But he stayed.
The sophomore guard, standing at the free throw line, glanced at Mick Cronin after the Bruins’ once 14-point lead was trimmed to just three with 8.3 seconds left Friday. UCLA’s coach, always an emblem of emotion, was expressionless on the Xfinity Mobile Arena sideline.
Perry went through his usual routine.
“It’s just me and the rim,” he told himself. “You dream of these moments.”
He stared at the rim, took a deep breath and drained both attempts. It provided a momentary cushion — one that was finalized three plays later with a missed 24-footer by Jordan Burks to cement No. 7-seeded UCLA’s 75-71 win over No. 10-seeded UCF in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Perry (15 points) was one of four Bruins to score 10 or more points. The balanced offense partially filled the void of an injured Tyler Bilodeau — who suffered a mild knee sprain in last Friday’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinal. But his absence was still felt.
The Bruins’ leading scorer warmed up with the team and was expected to play Friday. But Cronin made the final decision.
“[I] woke up a little bit sore, and ultimately coach decided to hold me out,” Bilodeau told The Sporting Tribune. “Who doesn’t want to play in March Madness? It’s definitely tough, but it was probably the right thing.”
Spoke with Tyler Bilodeau, who Mick Cronin kept out in UCLA’s first-round win over UCF:
— Ben Geffner (@BenGeffner) March 21, 2026
“I woke up a little bit sore, and ultimately Coach decided to hold me out … Who doesn’t want to play in March Madness? It’s tough.”
When asked about Sunday: “Just taking it day by day.” pic.twitter.com/fVM0UO4xhS
Without Bilodeau, UCLA allowed UCF to control multiple second-half bursts. The Knights matched the moment.
Their sporadic full-court man press resulted in a Bruin turnover before the first media timeout of the second half — a soon-to-be theme down the stretch.
Twelve of UCF’s first 16 points after the break came from distance — rhythmic, movement-heavy offense led to open shooting pockets around the perimeter en route to a 13-0 scoring blitz. The Knights, who hadn’t made 10-plus 3-pointers since Feb. 24 and finished with single-digit makes in 12 of their previous 13 games, rattled in 12 on 38 percent shooting Friday.
UCLA’s stable lead was cut to a one-possession game with 14 minutes left. But the Knights’ efficient offensive success was fleeting — they couldn’t close in the clutch.
Senior guard Skyy Clark, who lost a tooth when fumbling for the ball at the 2:40 mark, knocked down the latter of two free throws for the Bruins with two seconds left to effectively put the game out of reach.
“He’s got aura … [like] Mike Tyson,” junior guard Eric Dailey Jr. said.
UCLA started 0-for-7 from the field Friday and trailed by six points before Dailey arrived.
He scored the Bruins’ first three baskets and provided them with a lead that, despite several late scares, they never relinquished.
Dailey matched a season-high 20 points off a barrage of drives and jumpers. He was the first — and only — player to reach double-digit points for either team by halftime.
UCLA’s first basket of the game (after a 0/7 start) courtesy of Eric Dailey Jr.
— Ben Geffner (@BenGeffner) March 20, 2026
The Bruins’ junior guard was responsible for eight of their first 10 points. UCLA leads UCF, 13-12, at the first media timeout.@SportingTribpic.twitter.com/1Vdly0AbgA
The 6-foot-8 guard joined Clark (eight points) and Donovan Dent (10 points) in swarming the perimeter. The backcourt trio, hunting strip steals off UCF catches and shot attempts, led the Bruins’ early defensive success.
They helped force five Knight turnovers in the game’s first eight-and-a-half minutes, two of which were caused by Dent. UCF’s turnover count ballooned to an eventual 17 after 40 minutes.
The Bruins held the Knights without a made field goal for more than five minutes midway through the first half, jetting to a 13-1 run and a double-digit lead during that stretch.
“We weathered it all,” Cronin said. “[UCF] kept coming after us. In this situation, in an elimination game, you got nothing to lose.”
He admitted he was nervous about Themus Fulks. He said the senior guard kept him up at night while scouting UCF.
“He’s a problem,” Cronin said at Thursday’s media availability. “He makes good reads, does a great job of getting in the lane while under control [and] doesn't play out of control.”
Fulks, the Knights’ second-highest scorer at 14.1 points per game, had logged double-digit points in six of his team’s final seven regular-season games.
But the Bruins were successful in speeding up pace Friday. Despite logging eight assists, Fulks committed six turnovers and managed just 10 points on 5-for-13 shooting — most of those attempts came inside the perimeter.
He passed up a wide open layup in the first minute of Friday’s second half on a play that resulted in multiple missed shots, then a Xavier Booker (15 points) block, defensive rebound and coast-to-coast basket.
But after ending the first half on 1-for-8 shooting and letting the Knights complete a near-gutsy comeback win, Cronin’s just glad his team wasn’t on the wrong side of a March upset.
“Don’t ever underestimate the gameplan,” he said. “We didn’t execute late … it’s March, man. Crazy stuff happens.”