Short-handed UCLA basketball fought but lost to Purdue

CHICAGO — Already missing its leading scorer, things went from bad to worse for UCLA during the first half on Saturday.

Point guard Donovan Dent, whose late-season revival has sparked his team’s turnaround, limped toward the locker room, followed by the team doctor.

What happened next was completely unexpected.

Struggling with a hodgepodge of reserves, UCLA found itself tied with Purdue with less than four minutes remaining in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

In the end, the Bruins didn’t have enough power — let alone a star — to keep up with the pace.

The sixth-seeded Bruins’ 73-66 loss to the seventh-seeded Boilermakers at the United Center allowed them to shift into recovery mode.

Hopefully UCLA can return to full strength in its NCAA Tournament opener next week.

Dent tweaked his lower right leg and did not return after playing just 10 minutes, but the injury is not believed to be serious. He returned to the team’s bench in the last minute before half-time wearing a white sleeve on his right leg.

But as a sign of things to come, Dent didn’t warm up to his teammates before the second half.

There was also an encouraging status update for forward Tyler Bilodeau, who watched the game in a black sweatsuit. The forward only sprained his right knee against Michigan State on Friday, with no structural damage.

What does it mean

Playing its best basketball of the season, UCLA hoped to continue its surge in March.

Winning a game of this magnitude — especially with Bilodeau and Dent sidelined — would bode well for the rest of the month.

Now UCLA must hope to rebuild quickly if they can get their top two players back.

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Conversion point

The Bruins pulled within a 62-62 tie after Trent Perry (15 points, nine assists) found Brandon Williams for a dunk with less than four minutes to play.

But Purdue’s Oscar Cluff disputed the tip-in, and Perry’s turnover led to a breakup by Boilermakers guard CJ Cox. Cluff added another putback, and the Boilermakers were back up by six points with two minutes left.

The MVP

It was a good thing that the Bruins went along with Dr. David McAllister, their head team doctor and the head of sports medicine at UCLA.

Injuries to Bilodeau and Dent kept McAllister busy, and his presence made the players quickly understand the nature and severity of what they were dealing with.

Next

UCLA will learn its NCAA Tournament finale on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins are widely expected to be the No. 1 seed. 7 or 8, according to most bracket calculations.