UCLA men pick up 2nd win over USC to finish Big Ten regular season

LOS ANGELES — It was Galen Center, according to the sign out front, but the UCLA men’s basketball team had turned USC’s home court into Pauley Pavilion South on Saturday night — just as Bruins head coach Mick Cronin had asked for.

“We’re taking it over. Galen Center is going to be Pauley Pavilion South,” Cronin said in a video posted to the UCLA student section, The Den’s, Instagram.

The Bruins weathered an early offensive burst from the Trojans before going on to win 89-68 for their second straight victory after beating No. 9 Nebraska.

UCLA also moves its road record to 4-9 this season, and USC ends the Big Ten Conference regular season on a seven-game losing streak.

Donovan Dent thrived again against the Trojans, hitting 11 off his 15 shots to score 25 points after putting up 30 in the previous rivalry matchup. He also dished out seven assists.

Eric Dailey, Jr. added 19 points and eight rebounds and Tyler Bilodeau scored 16 points while pulling down eight boards.

Alijah Arenas was USC’s leading scorer with 20 points on 7 for 18 shooting from the field. Ezra Ausar recorded a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the game.

USC’s offense flowed in the opening minutes of the first half. Kam Woods made a no-look pass to Alijah Arenas, who graced the hoop with a 3-pointer for a 5-0 lead and the Trojans stayed out front until UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau hit his stride.

Bilodeau made a 3 to tie the game at 7-all at the 15:44 mark and banked in another shot from long range two minutes later to get the Bruins a 15-12 lead.

The Trojans tied the game twice when Jerry Easter II made a layup and again when Jacob Cofie sent a pass from the top of the key to Jordan Marsh for a corner 3.

The Victory Bell, won by USC during football season, clanged until UCLA’s 14-2 scoring run in the final 10 minutes all but buried USC.

A bad pass by Easter II was picked up by Eric Freeny, who took the ball in for a breakaway layup that gave the Bruins a 31-22 advantage and a 6-0 run that they could build on.

Bilodeau had 16 points and seven rebounds when the first half came to a close, and UCLA was leading 45-30.

USC had thrived in the paint earlier this season, but was outscored 20-12 under the basket in the first half. The Trojans were missing Chad Baker-Mazara’s blocking ability on defense and efficient shooting on offense in their second game without the former leading scorer after he and the team had split up.

UCLA fans had started to chant “we want Chad,” adding salt into the wound.

FS1 showed an in-game graphic with the title “what could have been” and showed headshots of Baker-Mazara, an injured Rodney Rice and previously-injured Arenas.

Baker-Mazara, who was watching from home, posted a photo of the graphic to his Instagram story with the caption “Swear Big 10 would’ve been in trouble.”

Meanwhile, on the court, USC was looking undisciplined among the refined style of play that UCLA had settled into. Eric Dailey poked the ball away from the Trojans’ defense and dribbled around until he found a comfortable spot for a jumper that pulled his team ahead 57-42 five minutes into the second half.

UCLA outscored USC 44-38 in the second half and was the more accurate team from the field and beyond the arc overall, shooting 57.6% and 52.9%, respectively.

Both teams will advance to the Big Ten Tournament, which is slated to begin on Tuesday, March 10.