INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The 22nd-seeded UCLA men’s basketball team defeated 14th-seeded Gonzaga 65-62 in the first college basketball game played Saturday afternoon at the Intuit Dome in front of 12,272 spectators.


In a non-conference contest that featured three lead changes and eight ties, the Bruins (11-2) took the lead for good with 33 seconds left in the game. Trailing by a 60-58 margin, Sebastian Mack scored under the basket and drew a foul, negating the free throw with 33 seconds left, giving UCLA a 61-60 lead.


The Bruins defense previously forced a missed 3-pointer from Gonzaga at the other end of the court Skyy Clarks Free throws with 13 seconds left put the Bruins on top 63-60. Clark was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 13 seconds of the game, helping secure the victory for UCLA.


With 13 seconds left, Gonzaga (9-4) responded quickly with a layup by Ryan Nembhard, who was fouled on the play. Nembhard missed the ensuing free throw attempt, which was blocked by Clark, who made two more free throws with five seconds left, giving UCLA a 65-62 lead. Gonzaga was unsuccessful on its final possession, missing a long throw near the midfield line.


The Bruins finished the game shooting 50 percent (12 for 24) from 3-point range and shooting 36.4 percent overall (20 for 55). Gonzaga made 7 of 24 long-range shots (29.2 percent) and finished the game with an overall shooting percentage of 45.5 percent (25 of 55).


“I know we can shoot because I see us every day,” he said Mick CroninMichael Price Family Head Basketball Coach of UCLA Men’s Basketball. “Shooting can come and go. We started badly… I think stats can be skewed sometimes, especially when you play games where you win by 60 or 70 points, which they do. So I don’t know, I don’t. “We’ve improved their stats against quality opponents and it’s not the same as their overall shooting stats. But we tried to spread them out and we tried to post our guards today. He hasn’t even practiced with the mask on today. He hasn’t even practiced with it yet and walks into the gym 4-for-5 from the starting line.”


Clark nearly recorded a triple-double, totaling 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists (team highs for UCLA in rebounds and assists). Eric Dailey Jr. Led UCLA in scoring with 18 points and was 4 of 5 on 3-pointers.



Kobe Johnson scored 12 points with four 3-pointers and added eight rebounds, a career-high Lazar Stefanovic also scored in double figures with 10 points.


Graham Ike led Gonzaga with 24 points on 11 of 16 shooting and added seven rebounds. Ryan Nembhard was Gonzaga’s only other player to score in double figures, totaling 16 points and a team-best eight assists.


Gonzaga took a 7-3 lead early in the contest before the Bruins tied the game 7-7 on two free throws from Dailey and a jumper from Stefanovic. The Bulldogs regained the lead 11-7 while UCLA went scoreless for nearly five minutes, but three consecutive points from Stefanovic and Clark gave UCLA a 13-11 lead with 7:29 left to play in the half.


Three three-point plays – a Dailey Jr. three, a Trent Perry and-one and a 3-pointer of Tyler Bilodeau – extended UCLA’s lead to 22-13 with 5:29 left. The Bruins used a 17-2 winning run in the period, capped by a Clark jump shot, to take a 24-13 lead. Gonzaga rallied at the end of the first half, scoring nine straight points and cutting its deficit to just 27-25 at halftime.


After Gonzaga scored a quick basket early in the second half (the score was 27:27), UCLA went on an 8-0 run that was stopped by two goals Kobe Johnson 3 points to go, 35-27.


Ike scored his ninth point of the second half on a 3-pointer to tie the game at 37-37 before Dailey responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Bruins a 43-37 lead. Gonzaga went on another scoring run, 8-0, over 1:16, including two fast-break three-pointers, to retake the lead at 45-43 with 12:22 left. A 3-pointer from Emmanuel Innocenti at 9:09 gave Gonzaga a 49-45 lead.


Johnson’s 3-point basket (his fourth of the game) made it 57-57 with 3:24 to play.


Both teams took turns shooting free throws so that the score was 58:58 with less than two minutes left. After a missed throw by Gonzaga, Mack was fouled with his head toward the basket but missed both free throw attempts.


The Bulldogs came back with a short jump shot from Nembhard at 0:56 to take a 60-58 lead, but Mack made up for his earlier missed free throws with a 1-1 chance, giving UCLA a 61-point lead with 33 seconds: 60 left.


UCLA’s win ended a four-game losing streak in the all-time series against Gonzaga. UCLA and Gonzaga have faced each other in each of the last five seasons (including this season), with two of those games coming in the NCAA Tournament.


The Bruins will play Nebraska on the road in a Big Ten Conference game on Saturday, January 4th. UCLA’s contest in Lincoln, Nebraska, will be broadcast at 11 a.m. PT (1 p.m. CT) on FOX.


UCLA will return home to face Michigan on Tuesday, January 7 at 7:00 p.m. PT at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.



Game notes: UCLA matched its season high in 3-pointers made (12, also against Oregon on Dec. 8)… Kobe Johnson He reached the peak of his career with three goals (four, scored in two previous games)… Eric Dailey Jr. made a career-best four 3-pointers on Saturday… Skyy Clark grabbed a career-best nine rebounds and tied his season high in assists (seven)… Clark was 4 of 4 on free throws, with all four of those attempts coming in the final 15 seconds of the game… UCLA finished with 11 wins in The non-conference portion of its schedule is 13 games in (and will now play a stretch of 18 consecutive Big Ten games).