Trent Perry scored 20 points and UCLA earned its third home win over a Top 10 team, beating No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 in a Big Ten Conference game on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
The Bruins (20-10, 12-7) finished with a 16-1 record at Pauley Pavilion, their only loss in double overtime to Indiana. They have also beaten then-No. 4 Purdue and then-No. 10 Illinois at home.
Perry was 8 of 15 from the field and hit three of UCLA’s 10 3-pointers, adding seven rebounds and four assists. Eric Dailey Jr. added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bruins, who are a half game behind Purdue and Wisconsin for 5th place in the Big Ten.
Nebraska (25-5, 14-5) missed out on a chance to lock up a triple bye given to the top four teams in next week’s Big Ten conference tournament. The Cornhuskers shot 38.8%, making only 5 of 24 3-pointers, with Pryce Sandfort going 2-for-7 from outside.
Sam Hoiberg led Nebraska with 12 points but had only two assists and was 2-for-4 from the line, as the Cornhuskers were 9 of 18 on foul shots.
The Bruins led 37-24 at halftime and built the margin to 18 with 15:18 left on consecutive baskets by Dailey. Nebraska started to find its stroke, making seven consecutive shots including a 3-pointer by Sandfort to get within 57-45 with 8:02 to go.
UCLA made only one field goal over a five-minute stretch, its lead down to 10, before getting five points on one possession. Perry hit a jumper, with Nebraska committing a foul away from the ball, giving the Bruins another chance that was cashed in by a Tyler Bilodeau 3-pointer for a 62-47 edge with 6:17 remaining.
UCLA built a nine-point lead in the first six minutes, and a pair of Xavier Booker 3-pointers put it up to 22-11 with 11:16 left in the first half. The Bruins made 10 of their first 15 shots while Nebraska didn’t get its 10th field goal until more than two minutes after halftime.
The Cornhuskers got within 29-22 with 5:41 left in the first half and then made only one more basket, missing 16 of 17 shots, including the first six of the second half.
