UCLA comes together for huge comeback and overtime win over No. 10 Illinois

LOS ANGELES - The Bruins came into Saturday's game against No. 10 Illinois (22-6, 13-4) with their heads laid low. 

It had been a difficult week for UCLA (18-9, 10-6). The team's road trip to Michigan ended in disaster with back-to-back blowout losses that saw the Bruins outscored by 56 points. 

 If the losses weren't bad enough, head coach Mick Cronin was at the center of controversy after the Michigan State game for pulling redshirt senior forward/center Steven Jamerson II from the game after a foul, something that Cronin later apologized for.

Cronin himself may not have been fazed, but he could see that his players were and he worried it could leak into their game against another ranked opponent. 

"Everybody's got all the answers behind the keyboard and these kids read that stuff," Cronin said, "I'm oblivious, but I didn't like the look on their face before the game. It was almost like they had lost confidence and we played like that early."

The Fighting Illini took off on a 20-0 run midway through the first half that lasted over six minutes and took a 23-10 lead. It looked as if the energy that plagued the Bruins in Michigan followed them into Pauley Pavilion.

Dispelling negativity

It may have looked bad, but UCLA wasn't done. Seemingly through sheer power of will the Bruins took off on a run of their own, making 11 straight field goals to cut the Illinois lead down to just seven points by the time the half drew to a close.

As hard as the week had been and as conscious as they were of everything against them, the Bruins made it point of emphasis to stay positive, with junior forward Eric Dailey Jr. leading the charge. 

"Honestly, there's been a lot of negativity toward our program. Those outside forces, we can't let them get in," Dailey Jr. said. "By just being positive and encouraging and picking people up when they miss shots... that kind of talk really carries a team."

UCLA kept the momentum in the second half and with just under 15 minutes left in the second half Dailey Jr. tied the game at 56 with a slam dunk that reignited the hopes of the UCLA home crowd. 

Soon after that junior forward Xavier Booker gave the Bruins their first lead of the night with a tip-in layup and from there, it was a back-and-forth exchange that followed both teams into overtime tied at 86.

An overtime thriller

By taking the lead, it was as if the Bruins took their spirits back as well. They stood taller, played harder, grabbed rebounds that seemed out of reach before and made shots they hadn't early in the game. The packed crowd in Pauley Pavilion was surely a boost as well. 

Neither team got out to a real advantage in overtime as they traded leads and tie scores, but the Fighting Illini took the lead, 94-93, with just 4.9 seconds left in the game. 

The Bruins needed a miracle, and senior guard Donovan Dent stepped up. 

Dent was already one of six Bruins to have double digit scoring nights and he was the team's lead playmaker with 15 assists without turning the ball over once. Now it was his time to save the game, and he made it count. 

Dent inbounded the ball and drove down the court, slicing through the Illinois defense and laying up the ball. The buzzer rang, the ball fell through the hoop, the Bruins won. 

It was the largest comeback to beat a Top-10 opponent in AP Poll history, and it's the kind of game that could turn UCLA's season around. The trials of the past week and the euphoria of Saturday night have brought the Bruin locker room closer together than ever with just a handful of games left in the regular season. 

"This whole week, we've just been together as a team... It's all about what's going on in the locker room [and] I think in the locker room we're at our highest point together," Dent said. "It just speaks volumes to how we responded to the road loss to come out here and get a big win."