No. 18 UCLA gives up 16-point lead, losing to North Carolina in a heartbreaker

Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times on Dec 21, 2024

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NEW YORK — With each team seeking the slightest edge, UCLA trying to hold on while North Carolina attempted to complete a massive comeback, it wasn't about how much blue was in their blood but how much ice was in their veins.

Needing a basket to avoid total collapse, the Bruins put the ball in the hands of their most fearless player. Sebastian Mack could not give his team the ending it wanted.

Mack backed down a defender before his short turnaround jumper was off the mark with less than a second to go, sealing No. 18 UCLA's 76-74 loss in a CBS Sports Classic game at Madison Square Garden the Bruins practically gave away after building a 16-point lead midway through the second half.

UCLA's Dylan Andrews put North Carolina in position to come all the way back and end the Bruins' nine-game winning streak after losing an inbounds pass out of bounds for a turnover with 21 seconds left and the Tar Heels down by one point.

North Carolina's R.J. Davis drove and was fouled, sending him to the free-throw line for the shots that gave the Tar Heels a 75-74 advantage with 13.6 seconds left.

Trailing by 16 points midway through the second half, the Tar Heels stormed back after UCLA's Tyler Bilodeau picked up his fourth foul and headed to the bench. By the time he returned, North Carolina was down by only three points.

Fouls, sloppy play and missed free throws were a big culprit for the Bruins (10-2). Skyy Clark missed the front end of two one-and-one situations and Bilodeau missed three of four tries in the final minutes.

Bilodeau finished with 26 points, most of them coming over the game's first 30 minutes.

Ian Jackson scored 24 points off the bench for North Carolina (7-5), which has won seven games in a row in the series.

The Bruins looked like they might be on the verge of a runaway victory when Bilodeau got a 3-pointer — his fifth of the game on as many tries — to rattle in to give his team a 59-43 cushion. But soon a whistle blew, Bilodeau was called for his fourth foul, and the momentum dramatically shifted.

The start of the second half was delayed by several minutes because of the need to clean up some courtside vomit. Both teams went back through a layup line similar to pregame drills during the delay.

Things deteriorated further for the Bruins 12 seconds into the second half when Eric Dailey Jr. picked up his third foul and headed to the bench, never to return.

It looked like Bilodeau was going one on five in the game's early going, the junior forward scoring all of UCLA's points over the first 5 1/2 minutes. After he made two 3-pointers, a turnaround jumper in which he was fouled and a jumper, the scoreboard could have read Bilodeau 11, Tar Heels 9.

A heavy dose of Mack toward the latter portion of the first half helped the Bruins build a far bigger lead. Mack's back-to-back 3-pointers extended UCLA's advantage to 31-18 and he went on to throw two nice passes — including a perfect lob — to William Kyle III for dunks.

UCLA's 40-32 halftime cushion wasn't larger because the Bruins kept sending North Carolina to the free-throw line — leading to the Tar Heels making 10 of 16 free throws — and finished the half with 10 turnovers to North Carolina's 11.

There was more yuckiness to come for the Bruins.