Bruins Escape With Crucial Win Over Northwestern

The UCLA Bruins (21-9, 12-7) earned another hard-fought win as they downed the Northwestern Wildcats (16-14, 7-12) at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois. A second-half scoring surge for the Bruins denied Northwestern of a Senior Night win, snapping their three-game win streak.

With just over 2 minutes to play, the Bruins held a 14-point lead, and the game looked out of reach. Instead, the Wildcats put together a 13-0 run in the following 90 seconds to pull within 1 point as multiple turnovers and missed free throws nearly gave the game away.

Luckily for UCLA, it escaped the next possession with a pair of technical free throws and a few more in the final seconds to earn a 73-69 win. The score was much closer than it should have been, as the Wildcats were playing with their season on the line as a bottom-tier Big Ten team.

UCLA imposed its will on the glass all night long, earning 13 offensive rebounds that converted to 17 second-chance points. It was +14 in the rebound margin against a limited Wildcat group that had two of its top players out with season-ending injuries.

The Bruins were led once again by junior forward Tyler Bilodeau, the leading scorer in the game and all season. He finished with 20 points with six rebounds and three assists. Even while battling foul trouble early in the game, Bilodeau still found a way to be a factor, specifically in the second half.

Sophomore center Aday Mara posted his second double-double of the season, netting 11 points and 10 rebounds while adding three blocks to his stat sheet. Mara was heavily used to open up the second half and was dominant amongst the Northwestern big men.

Junior guard Skyy Clark and sophomore forward Eric Dailey Jr. both had solid showings in the win as well. Clark earned 10 points with an impressive seven assists while Dailey finished with 12 buckets and six rebounds. Senior guard Lazar Stefanovic also chipped in with 7 points off the bench.

The Bruins still have a chance to earn a top-four seed in next week's Big Ten Tournament but will need a lot of help to do so. They would need both No. 18 Purdue and No. 13 Maryland to lose each of their last two games of the season while No. 12 Wisconsin must lose one of its final two contests.

The final regular-season game of the year is one of the biggest matchups of the season for UCLA. It will have its Senior Night on Saturday night in primetime in what will be a rematch against its bitter in-state rivals, the USC Trojans (14-15, 6-12). Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT.

The game will be televised on FOX.

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