Indiana Survives UCLA’s Comeback, Wins Double-OT Thriller in Westwood
LOS ANGELES - For a moment, it felt like the game had slipped through Indiana’s fingers.
Up by 10 with less than two minutes left in regulation, the Hoosiers saw their lead vanish in a blur of UCLA buckets and a cold-blooded three from Trent Perry that tied the game with just seconds left. Pauley Pavilion erupted.
Indiana’s bench wore the look of a team stunned by the sudden shift in momentum. Jasai Miles’ full-court heave missed, and just like that, overtime beckoned.
But in the huddle, as emotions surged and the crowd roared, veteran Tucker DeVries boiled it all down to four words.
“Flush it. Next play.”
That simple phrase became Indiana’s lifeline. What followed was a gritty, gut-check performance that stretched across two overtimes and ended with freshman Trent Sisley calmly sinking a free throw with 0.3 seconds left to seal a 98-97 road win - Indiana’s third conference victory away from home and arguably its most resilient showing of the season.
Head coach Darian DeVries summed it up best: “I just thought it showed a lot of guts, a lot of character, a lot of poise by a lot of different guys and having the ability to be ready when your number’s called.”
Depth Tested, Character Revealed
This wasn’t a win that came easy. Indiana’s already-thin rotation took hit after hit.
Starting guard Conor Enright fouled out with just under 10 seconds left in regulation. Tayton Conerway, still nursing an ankle injury, missed his third straight game.
Then Reed Bailey - who’d been red-hot with a season-high 24 points - fouled out with 2:46 left in the first overtime.
That’s three key contributors gone. On the road.
In a packed arena. Against a UCLA team that hadn’t lost at home all season.
But Indiana didn’t blink.
Instead, the Hoosiers leaned on their collective toughness. Whether it was Lamar Wilkerson pouring in 10 points across the two overtimes, Tucker DeVries battling for defensive boards, or Sisley stepping up to hit the game-winner, this was a total team effort.
Nick Dorn, in particular, was sensational. He caught fire in the second half, scoring 21 of his season-high 26 points after the break.
Sam Alexis chipped in with three clutch free throws in the extra periods. Every player in crimson had a role to play - and played it with purpose.
A Statement Win, Built on Grit
Indiana didn’t just survive - it earned this one. The Hoosiers snapped UCLA’s perfect home record (12-0 entering Saturday) and added another statement win to a growing résumé that now includes back-to-back quad-one victories in less than a week.
The win over Purdue earlier in the week showed Indiana could go toe-to-toe with a ranked rival. This one proved they could weather adversity, silence a hostile crowd, and find answers when the game demanded something extra.
And make no mistake - UCLA threw everything at them. The Bruins’ furious comeback in the final minutes of regulation could’ve broken most teams. But Indiana, as it has all season, leaned into its identity: tough, together, and unshaken by the moment.
“That just shows how connected we are as a team and how we’re growing,” Dorn said postgame. “It’s just getting even more crisp every time we step out on the court.”
March Implications? Maybe. But That’s Not the Focus.
Wins like this one - on the road, in overtime, against a previously unbeaten home team - carry weight in March. But if you ask Darian DeVries, he’s not looking that far ahead.
“If you stack up enough of them, it’ll be what it’s going to be,” he said. “But we can’t worry about stuff. We have to control what we can control right in front of us.”
And right in front of them? A quick turnaround and another test in Los Angeles, this time against USC on Tuesday.
But if Saturday’s win told us anything, it’s that this Indiana team doesn’t dwell. They don’t panic. They don’t get too high or too low.
They just keep playing.
“Flush it. Next play.”
That’s the mantra. And right now, it’s working.