No. 7 seed UCLA was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, losing 67-58 to No. 2 seed Tennessee in the second round at Rupp Arena.
The Bruins (23-11) were led by junior guard Skyy Clark, who scored a season-high 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the 3-point range. Junior forward Tyler Bilodeau added 15 points, and sophomore center Aday Mara contributed seven off the bench.
Tennessee (29-7) was paced by Chaz Lanier’s game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Zakai Zeigler and Jordan Gainey added 15 and 13 points, respectively, as the Volunteers shot 7-of-12 from beyond the arc in the second half.
A 22-6 Tennessee run spanning the end of the first half and early in the second helped the Volunteers pull away. UCLA, which led 8-4 early, trailed 32-25 at halftime after an 8-0 Tennessee run closed the first half.
Clark, limited by early foul trouble, helped cut the deficit to six with back-to-back threes in the second half, but the Bruins could not close the gap.
“They’re a hell of a team,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “We had a chance, but foul trouble threw us off.”
The loss ends UCLA’s season in the second round for the first time since 2011. It was the Bruins’ 53rd NCAA Tournament appearance and their fourth second-round appearance under Cronin.
Photographed by Jan Kim Lim/UCLA Athletics
Photographed by Jan Kim Lim/UCLA Athletics
—
Featured Image Photographed by Zimo Li/Daily Bruin.
