The Indiana Hoosiers followed up their first Quad One victory of the season with a sometimes frustrating and ultimately thrilling double-overtime victory at UCLA. This was the first time IU had played at historic Pauley Pavilion and the Hoosiers got 26 points from Nick Dorn and 24 each from Lamar Wilkerson and Reed Bailey as they rallied in the second extra session and snagged a crucial second Quad One victory despite blowing a ten-point cushion in the final two minutes of regulation.
The game began exactly as UCLA head coach Mick Cronin wanted as his team locked up the visitors and made finding any open looks extremely difficult. Indiana scored only eight points in the first 10 minutes and looked a lot like the team that had been terrible in road games and nothing like the team that had just upset rival Purdue. Darian DeVries took a timeout with IU trailing 14-8 and his team responded by going on a 14-2 run sparked by a spurt from Lamar Wilkerson. With the Hoosiers leading 22-16, the UCLA Bruins answered as Wilkerson headed to the bench with his second foul. The hosts went on a 14-3 run of their own and led by nine points with under a minute remaining in the first half. IU drained the clock and then executed a great play with Tucker DeVries getting to the high post and lobbing a pass to Reed Bailey for a dunk. Bailey was fouled and converted the three-point play to trim the deficit to six points at the break. IU was outscored 18-10 in the paint but hung tough thanks to five three-pointers after an ice cold start.
Indiana needed someone to step up in the second half and Nick Dorn answered the call. The junior transfer from Elon got hot from three and added a couple of tough drives as he put IU back in front 45-43 but UCLA answered as the lead changed hands a couple of times before Nick Dorn made another triple and then Reed Bailey played his best stretch of the season with multiple inside buckets, strong rebounds and a block. His plays helped IU build a 63-54 advantage before Tyler Bilodeau tried to chip the lead away but Lamar Wilkerson and Nick Dorn made three-pointers to extend the lead to ten points with just less than two minutes remaining.
UCLA picked up full-court pressure and Indiana was rattled for a bit and then Lamar Wilkerson missed the front end of a one-and-one. UCLA got a three-point play to suddenly cut the margin to just four points with 51 seconds left. Lamar Wilkerson was fouled with 43.9 remaining and connected on both attempts to make it 73-67. Donovan Dent got a quick layup to cut the lead back to four points and then Wilkerson turned the ball over and UCLA sliced the lead to two points. Reed Bailey made both free throws with 25.5 seconds left to restore the lead to 75-71. Conor Enright fouled out with 9.9 seconds remaining and put Trent Perry on the foul line and the sophomore made both free throws. Bailey was fouled again with 8.7 seconds left, made only one of two shots and Trent Perry completed IU’s disastrous collapse with a made three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
UCLA outscored IU 15-5 in the final 1:50 of regulation. IU had a chance to go ahead by four points at the beginning of overtime but Lamar Wilkerson missed a layup and Nick Dorn committed a foul 75-feet from the basket followed by the fifth foul for Jasai Miles as UCLA made three free throws to regain the lead. Reed Bailey was called for a dubious foul and he was disqualified after a great performance as the Bruins extended the lead to three points. Lamar Wilkerson cut the margin to one point with 1:30 left and Tyler Bilodeau wiped Tucker DeVries out on an illegal screen and Wilkerson gave IU the lead with a minute to play on a layup. DeVries was called for a foul and Tyler Bilodeau made one free throw but UCLA got the rebound and Donovan Dent got a layup to make it 84-82.
IU hunted for a three-pointer before getting the ball to Sam Alexis for a tough finish and Trent Perry missed as time expired, sending the game to a second overtime. The Hoosiers began the second overtime with three players already fouled out but they were still the more aggressive team to begin the second extra session, getting to the foul line for four free throws and connecting on three to take a three-point lead. UCLA answered with a layup and then Sam Alexis was called for a loose ball foul that gave the Bruins two more free throws and the lead at 88-87. Wilkerson drove the ball again and gave IU the lead but Dent answered and did the same for UCLA.
Trent Sisley made one of two free throws again and tied the contest with two minutes remaining. Trent Perry drained a three late in the shot clock to give the Bruins a 93-90 lead and then Sam Alexis made a pair of free throws to trim the deficit back to one point. Indiana got a stop and Tucker DeVries was fouled on the rebound with one minute left. The senior hit both free throws and IU was back ahead by one point but Donovan Dent was quickly fouled and gave UCLA the lead again. Lamar Wilkerson drove it for another layup and Sam Alexis ripped down a defensive rebound with 31.8 remaining as he was fouled.
He made one of two and IU led 97-95. Eric Dailey scored with less than seconds on the clock and IU had the ball knocked out of bounds with 1.5 seconds remaining. Darian DeVries drew an out of bounds play that got Trent Sisley open enough to receive a pass going to the basket and he was fouled with .3 seconds left. The freshman stepped to the line, made the first free throw and missed the second as time expired as soon as it was touched with the Indiana Hoosiers prevailing 98-97.
The Indiana Hoosiers will take a short bus trip to the University of Southern California for a Tuesday night clash against the USC Trojans to wrap up their West Coast road swing and try to notch a third Quad One win in a row. Despite some late game issues, Darian DeVries’ squad has had a fantastic week and has put themselves squarely in the NCAA Tournament mix as the calendar turns to February.