UCLA held Washington without a point for more than four minutes down the stretch and weathered a furious comeback effort in a 77-73 Big Ten Conference win on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Closely contested throughout, the Bruins (17-7, 9-4 Big Ten) gave themselves a late cushion with a stingy defensive performance that saw the Huskies score only seven points over a nearly nine-minute span.
The Bruins built their largest lead at nine points over a 9-2 run that included Washington (12-12, 4-9) going scoreless from 5:50 to 1:33 remaining in regulation.
The pivotal spell included a successfully converted and-one opportunity from Tyler Bilodeau, who scored 19 points, and a tough, fadeaway jumper by Eric Dailey Jr. after methodically backing in his defender.
Dailey was one of four Bruins to score in double figures, finishing with 14 points. Donovan Dent went for 17 points and completed a double-double with 10 assists, while Trent Perry notched a game-high 23 points.
Perry’s pace-setting effort included four free throws in the final minute, which proved to be critical after Washington closed on a torrid pace.
The Huskies recovered from their lengthy offensive drought to erupt for 13 points in the final 81 seconds. Quimari Peterson kicked off the Washington spurt with back-to-back 3-pointers then a layup to pull the Huskies to within three with 38 seconds remaining.
Wesley Yates II scored three of his team-high 21 points on an and-one putback to move Washington to a two-point deficit with 23 seconds left. The Huskies could get no closer, however, as Perry and Dailey combined to knock down all six of their free-throw attempts down the stretch.
The Bruins shot 23 of 29 from the foul line to complement their 8-of-18 3-point shooting, which included three made triples each from Perry and Bilodeau.
Washington dominated UCLA in the paint 44-18, but the Huskies finished 12 of 18 at the free-throw line and just 5 of 17 from deep. Peterson made three of the Huskies’ 3-pointers on the way to 12 points.
