MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota shot a blistering 58 percent from the field and rode Bobby Durkin’s hot hand to a 78-73 victory over UCLA on Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena, dealing the Bruins a costly late-season loss in Big Ten play.
Durkin poured in 23 points and connected on 7 of 11 attempts from 3-point range for the Golden Gophers (14-15, 7-11 Big Ten), who answered every UCLA push in the final minutes. Minnesota finished 29 for 50 from the field and made 12 3-pointers, overcoming a 10-rebound deficit by taking care of the ball and executing down the stretch.
UCLA (19-10, 11-7) wasted a standout performance from Tyler Bilodeau, who scored a team-high 32 points on 13-of-21 shooting, including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc. Bilodeau, the Big Ten’s leading 3-point shooter entering the day, improved his season mark to 45.5 percent (56 for 123) from distance.
Donovan Dent continued his recent surge, tying his career high with 15 assists for the second time in three games. Dent, who also had 15 assists in last week’s home win over Illinois, has now totaled 38 assists against just one turnover over his last three contests. UCLA finished with 27 assists and only six turnovers but could not string together enough defensive stops.
“We were plus-10 on the glass, shoot 51 percent, make 10 threes, you should win — but not with this team,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “We’ve struggled defensively all year. It’s been a grind, something I haven’t experienced in 30 years in college. We just have deficiencies and they exposed them. Give them all the credit. Execution is what it is all about, and I’m talking about defensive execution.”
The Bruins shot 51 percent overall (29 for 57) and made 10 3-pointers. Eric Dailey Jr. added 18 points and Skyy Clark had 17, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career on a second-half free throw. Clark also handed out five assists.
The game was tight throughout. UCLA took a 41-40 lead into halftime behind 16 first-half points from Bilodeau and 10 from Clark. Dent dished out nine assists before the break as both teams opened the game shooting a combined 8 for 10 over the first 4½ minutes.
Minnesota built an early nine-point cushion at 24-15 before Bilodeau and Clark answered with consecutive 3-pointers. The Bruins grabbed their first lead since the opening minutes at 30-27 with 8:15 left in the half, fueled by Bilodeau’s four straight made 3s.
In the second half, Bilodeau briefly swung momentum UCLA’s way. Trailing 59-55 with 11 minutes remaining, he scored six straight points to tie the game. The teams were knotted at 61-61 with 7:59 left before Minnesota responded with a 6-0 run to take control.
Clark’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 73-70 with 2:42 remaining, but the Gophers answered with another triple to push the lead back to six. Bilodeau converted an and-one to trim it to 76-73 with 1:50 left, yet UCLA came up empty on its final opportunities. Minnesota sealed the win with two free throws with 12 seconds to play.
The loss leaves UCLA with two regular-season games remaining. The Bruins return home to host No. 12 Nebraska on Tuesday night at Pauley Pavilion before closing the regular season at USC next Saturday.