Eric Dailey Jr. converted the winning basket with 7.5 seconds left to lift UCLA to a 63-61 victory over No. 9 Michigan State on Thursday night in Big Ten play at Los Angeles.
Dailey drove the lane and put up a left-handed shot just over the reach of Coen Carr, and it banked off the glass and in as the Bruins won their sixth straight game.
Skyy Clark scored 14 points and Tyler Bilodeau added 13 for UCLA (17-6, 8-4 Big Ten), which committed just three turnovers while forcing 16.
Jaden Akins scored 15 points for Michigan State, but his last-second 3-point attempt bounced off the front rim as the Spartans (18-4, 9-2) lost their second straight game following 13 straight victories.
Spartans coach Tom Izzo remains one victory behind Hall of Famer Bobby Knight (353) for most Big Ten coaching wins.
Among the spectators in attendance were legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (UCLA) and Magic Johnson (Michigan State), who won five NBA titles together with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Hall of Fame careers.
UCLA shot just 35 percent from the field, including 7 of 28 (25 percent) from 3-point range.
The Spartans knocked down 37.7 percent of their attempts and were only 5 of 22 (22.7 percent) from behind the arc. Michigan State held a 45-27 rebounding advantage.
The Bruins led 61-59 after a 3-pointer by Lazar Stefanovic with 2:50 remaining. A putback by Michigan State’s Jaxon Kohler tied the score with 2:05 to go.
The Spartans later had a chance to move ahead, but Kohler was called for traveling with 24.3 seconds left. Dailey then answered with his clutch basket.
Earlier, Bilodeau scored six straight points to give UCLA a 43-33 lead with 17:12 left in the game.
A 3-pointer by Dylan Andrews pushed the lead to 11 with 16:44 remaining.
Michigan State moved within five with 11:12 left on Clark’s thunderous dunk off Tre Holloman’s assist.
A short time later, Akins scored five points during an 8-0 burst as the Spartans knotted the game at 54-54. Carson Cooper hit the tying free throws with 7:09 left in the game.
Clark scored 13 first-half points and UCLA led 35-28 at the break. Xavier Booker scored six in the half for the Spartans.
The Spartans committed eight first-half turnovers to just two for the Bruins.
–Field Level Media
