CHICAGO (AP) — Donovan Dent had 23 points and 12 assists, Trent Perry added 22 points and UCLA held off No. 8 Michigan State 88-84 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday night despite losing star Tyler Bilodeau to a leg injury.
Bilodeau had to be helped off the court late in the first half and spent the second on the sideline with his right knee wrapped. The Bruins led by 15 early in the second half and withstood several big pushes down
the stretch to advance to a semifinal matchup with No. 18 Purdue, which beat No. 11 Nebraska 74-58.
They were clinging to an 82-80 lead when Brandon Williams scored on a fast-break layup to make it a four-point game with 25 seconds remaining. Carson Cooper made a layup for Michigan State with 12 seconds left. UCLA’s Trent Perry immediately answered with two free throws.
Jeremy Fears Jr. then drove for a layup to cut it to 86-84 with six seconds remaining. But Perry sealed the win with two free throws.
Bilodeau went down clutching his right knee when his leg buckled as he tried to defend Cooper in the post. The noncontact injury happened away from the ball with 3:33 remaining and the Bruins leading 35-23.
The team’s leading scorer and rebounder, Bilodeau made both his shots and had five points in 10 minutes.
Fears had 21 points and 13 assists for the Spartans (25-7). Cooper and Kur Teng scored 13 apiece.
UCLA beat Purdue 69-67 on Jan. 20 at Pauley Pavilion when Bilodeau hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
