On a night that will echo through the halls of Pauley Pavilion for years to come, the UCLA men’s basketball team staged a comeback for the ages, toppling No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime thanks to a coast-to-coast, last-second layup from senior guard Donovan Dent. With 4.9 seconds remaining in the extra period and UCLA trailing by one, Dent seized the inbound, sliced through the Illini defense, and finished an acrobatic up-and-under just as the buzzer sounded, sending the crowd of 10,036 into a frenzy.
“It’s a tough position for any defender with a guy coming at you full speed, and I change direction like that,” Dent said after the game. “Once I changed direction, I saw that he was behind me. It was just really me and 44 (Zvonimir Ivisic), and I kind of jumped before him so I got him in the air, and then once I got him in the air, I kind of just went up and under and made the layup.”
That single moment capped a wild night in Los Angeles – one that saw the Bruins (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten) erase a 23-point first-half deficit, the largest comeback ever recorded by a UCLA team against a top-10 opponent in AP history. The victory also snapped a two-game losing skid for the Bruins and provided a much-needed jolt as they gear up for the final stretch of the regular season.
For Illinois (22-6, 13-4 Big Ten), it was another heartbreaking overtime loss – their third straight in Big Ten play, all decided by razor-thin margins. The Illini’s four conference defeats have now come by a combined nine points, underscoring just how competitive this group has been, even in defeat. Saturday’s loss also snapped a two-game winning streak against UCLA and left Illinois 0-4 all-time when facing the Bruins in Los Angeles.
Early on, though, it looked like Illinois might cruise to a statement road win. The Illini exploded for a 20-0 run midway through the first half, stretching a 13-10 advantage into a commanding 33-10 lead with just over nine minutes remaining before the break. Ben Humrichous was lights out from deep, drilling four of his career-high five three-pointers during that stretch, and Illinois’ size and rebounding prowess were on full display. By halftime, the visitors had amassed 20 offensive rebounds and 27 second-chance points, dominating the glass en route to a 50-43 lead at the break.
“You’ve got to box out better,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin admitted. “That’s hard to do when they get you in a switch, and they get a 7-2 guy rebounding against a 6-1 guy. Because of their ability to shoot, they get you stuck in situations – and we’ve started three small guards. But it was 15-0, second-chance points at halftime. And we went on a run, and there were 10 minutes left in the game, and they still had not had a second chance point in the second half.”
But the Bruins refused to fold. A 3-pointer from junior forward/center Xavier Booker seemed to flip the switch, igniting a UCLA offense that had sputtered in recent games. The Bruins, who entered the contest ranked second in the Big Ten in three-point percentage but near the bottom nationally in attempts, began to let it fly. They finished with 11 made threes on 28 attempts, stretching Illinois’ defense and opening up driving lanes.
Junior guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr., who had struggled on the team’s recent road trip, led the way with 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. “We just showed our fight,” Dailey said. “Fighting for him, fighting for our team, fighting for this school – that’s what it comes to at the end of the day. Our toughness, our mental toughness, we really locked in tonight. I love how we responded to the shots they were making. I love how we responded – even when we had lapses, the next play we got it back.”
Booker and Tyler Bilodeau, thrust into larger roles as part of Cronin’s new three-guard starting lineup, responded to the challenge. Booker poured in 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while Bilodeau added 18 points and hit two of five from long range. Trent Perry chipped in 17 points and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line, while Skyy Clark contributed to the 41 combined points from the starting guard trio.
Perhaps most impressively, Dent orchestrated the offense to perfection, tallying a career-high 15 assists without a single turnover – just one shy of the UCLA single-game record. “You got to stay relentless, keep trying to coach them,” Cronin said. “You’ve got to keep trying to poke and push a different button. You’ve got to keep trying to push different buttons, whatever those buttons may be.”
Illinois, for its part, showcased why it entered the game with the top-ranked offense in the nation according to KenPom. Keaton Wagler, a projected top-10 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, led the Illini with 19 points, eight rebounds (six offensive), and six assists. Wagler’s layup at the 16:38 mark of the second half broke the Illinois freshman season scoring record, previously held by Corey Bradford and Kasparas Jakucionis. Tomislav Ivisic added 16 points and six rebounds, while Humrichous finished with 15 points, all from beyond the arc. Kylan Boswell and Zvonimir Ivisic also reached double figures, with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The second half was a back-and-forth slugfest, featuring nine ties and 13 lead changes overall. UCLA’s defense, which had been porous early, tightened dramatically. The Bruins held Illinois to just 29.6% shooting in the second half and a frigid 16.7% from three-point range. In overtime, the Illini went 0-for-5 from deep and shot just 22% overall.
In the final moments of overtime, it was Wagler again who appeared to play hero, grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring a putback to give Illinois a 94-93 lead with under five seconds remaining. But the ensuing play belonged to Dent, who raced the length of the court and etched his name into UCLA lore.
The win improved the Bruins’ home record to a dominant 15-1 this season and marked their third victory in the last five games. Over the past two seasons, UCLA has now won 30 of 33 contests at Pauley Pavilion. Meanwhile, Illinois, despite hitting 13 three-pointers and outrebounding UCLA 43-24, was left to rue another narrow defeat away from home.
Both teams now look ahead to crucial conference matchups. UCLA will host crosstown rival USC on February 24, while Illinois returns home to a sold-out State Farm Center to face No. 1 Michigan on February 27. As the regular season winds down, this instant classic will surely serve as a turning point for the Bruins and a rallying cry for the resilient but snakebitten Illini.