UCLA men's winning streak comes to an end against Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Skyy Clark's three-pointer was well off the mark, UCLA's latest empty possession triggering more vitriol.
'Skyy you suck!' chanted the Illinois students who felt jilted by the Bruin guard's departure from their beloved team more than a year ago.
The Illini were no less forgiving on the court.
Scoring with ease and disrupting every UCLA player besides Tyler Bilodeau, Illinois ended the Bruins' nearly monthlong winning streak after withstanding an epic comeback over the final minutes.
Trailing by 16 points with less than five minutes to play, UCLA was within two points after it made 10 consecutive shots and Sebastian Mack made two free throws with 12.8 seconds left.
After the Illini broke the Bruins' press, UCLA's William Kyle fouled Ben Humrichous, who made the first free throw and missed the second. But Illinois' Tomislav Ivisic tipped out the offensive rebound, the Bruins were forced to foul again and two more Illini free throws sealed their fate during an 83-78 loss Tuesday night inside State Farm Center.
UCLA's defense was too pliable in allowing the Illini to shoot 50.9% on the way to ending the Bruins' seven-game winning streak. Illinois was also the far tougher team, outrebounding UCLA (18-7 overall, 9-5 Big Ten) by 13 while also grabbing 10 offensive rebounds.
Bilodeau finished with 25 points, making nine of 17 shots and seven of 12 three-pointers, while fueling a comeback that seemed unlikely given the way the Illini were getting almost everything they wanted offensively.
Kasparas Jakucionis scored 24 points to lead Illinois (17-8, 9-6).
Clark's return to Illinois was not a quiet one. Students were on the UCLA guard who spent his freshman season here from the moment they spotted him before the game.
'Quitter!' the students chanted before heckling him while he shot practice free free throws in front of them.
As if that wasn't enough, two students positioned behind UCLA's basket scribbled messages on whiteboards.
'#55 5 teams 5 years' one message read, alluding to Clark having also played at Louisville in addition to a series of high schools.
'When you guys leave, Skyy knows where the door is,' read another message.
There was another more pressing irritant for the Bruins.
Coming off a stretch in which they took care of the ball at a historic level, committing just three turnovers in back-to-back games for the first time since the statistic was tracked starting with the 1976-77 season, the Bruins were not nearly as meticulous Tuesday.
When Dylan Andrews lost the ball to conclude a sloppy stretch by his team, UCLA had its fourth turnover and only 6:10 had elapsed. The Illini paired the extra possessions with some cold shooting by the Bruins to zip into an early 11-point lead that they eventually extended to 15.
A turning point came when UCLA's Aday Mara entered the game with about six minutes before halftime, the big man disrupting Illinois' offense as the Bruins went on a 12-5 run fueled by two Tyler Bilodeau three-pointers.
With his team trailing only 31-25 at the game's midpoint despite a fairly dreadful showing, UCLA coach Mick Cronin turned toward his bench and clapped in encouragement as the Bruins headed for the locker room.
They would not be in nearly as good of a mood the next time they headed there.
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