Donovan Dent’s epic heater leads UCLA basketball past USC

All season long, Donovan Dent has been knocked for his shooting.

Can’t make 3-pointers. Can’t make free throws. Struggles to finish at the rim.

With each shot that fell through the net against his new archrival Tuesday night, the UCLA point guard toppled each of those notions one by one.

Continually pulling up with confidence from beyond the arc, Dent’s four 3-pointers in the first half doubled his previous high for any game this season.

He was just getting started on the way to leading the Bruins to an 81-62 victory over USC before the first sellout crowd in exactly two years inside Pauley Pavilion.

Three days after his game-winning coast-to-coast layup, Dent repeatedly thrilled the 13,659 fans with his epic shooting display. His five 3-pointers weren’t far off the eight he had made all season before Tuesday.

Dent’s can’t-miss moment came when he flung up a 30-footer at the end of the shot clock midway through the second half. It went in. Dent finished with a season-high 30 points while making 10 of 16 shots and five of six 3-pointers. He also made five of six free throws to go with seven assists and no turnovers for the Bruins (19-9 overall, 11-6 Big Ten).

Dent became the first UCLA player to score 30 points against the Trojans since Aaron Holiday tallied 34 in March 2018.

It was UCLA’s third consecutive victory in the crosstown rivalry and might have portended plenty of March promise if Dent can sustain this sort of touch. Entering the game, he had made just 16.7 percent of his 3-pointers and 62.7 percent of his free throws.

In what amounted to a 3-point contest in the first half, Dent upstaged USC’s Chad Baker-Mazara when Dent swished a step-back jumper over the outstretched arms of 7-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes at the halftime buzzer, giving him 19 points on six-for-nine shooting.

Baker-Mazara finished with 25 points while making five of nine 3-pointers for the Trojans (18-10, 7-10).

UCLA trolled its rival before tipoff, showing video scoreboard footage of USC coach Eric Musselman saying “That’s a homecourt advantage” from a year ago after the Trojans got trounced before a raucous crowd in this building.

There was a bit of revenge for the Trojans late in the first half when Baker-Mazara flung the ball off Eric Freeny’s face while falling out of bounds. The play was reviewed for a flagrant-1 foul that wasn’t called, incensing fans who booed.

With Dent on a heater, they went back to cheering soon enough.

What does it mean?

Bragging rights weren’t the half of it.

Each team needed this win badly for NCAA tournament purposes.

UCLA entered the day on the right side of the bubble according to most prognosticators, USC on the outside looking in.

Those positions didn’t change after the Bruins held serve at home, ensuring they didn’t waste the momentum generated by their breathless victory over Illinois. The teams will meet again in their final regular-season game on March 7 at the Galen Center.

Turning point

With USC mucking UCLA’s offense up for much of the first half, the Bruins finally got going in the final minutes. Dent threw a lob to Xavier Booker for a dunk before Dent drove for a layup.

In a play that symbolized how things were going for the Trojans, UCLA guard Trent Perry grabbed a loose ball that had ricocheted off Baker-Mazara for a layup in which he was fouled by Baker-Mazar. When Perry made the free throw to complete the 3-point play, UCLA was up 36-27 and suddenly in control.

MVP

Three days after he logged a season-high 15 assists against Illinois, Dent switched into scoring mode.

Nobody seemed to mind.

UCLA will take this version of him every time he wants to show it.

Up next

Having struggled on the road for most of the season, UCLA is hoping for a breakthrough against Minnesota on Saturday. It might help that the Golden Gophers have lost four of their last six games at Williams Arena, which will never be confused with Cameron Indoor Stadium in terms of homecourt advantage.

USC should have a far tougher time Saturday at home against No. 12 Nebraska, which has been the surprise team of the Big Ten. A victory over the Cornhuskers would significantly enhance the Trojans’ standing for the NCAA tournament.