Illinois Vs Ucla — Dent's OT layup caps historic rally, Bruins win 95-94
Game Recap: Men's Basketball | February 21, 2026 — in a dramatic illinois vs ucla matchup at Pauley Pavilion, Donovan Dent's coast-to-coast layup as time expired in overtime gave UCLA a 95-94 victory over No. 10 Illinois, capping the Bruins' largest comeback in school history.
Illinois Vs Ucla: Dent finishes a 23-point comeback
Donovan Dent took an inbounds pass from Brandon Williams and raced the length of the floor, delivering an up-and-under layup off the glass as the buzzer sounded with 4. 9 seconds elapsed on the clock to lift UCLA 95-94. The senior from Riverside, Calif., finished the game with 14 points and a career-high 15 assists with no turnovers as UCLA rallied from a 33-10 hole to complete the 23-point comeback.
Wagler's record night and the late exchange
Keaton Wagler led Illinois with 19 points, a game-high eight rebounds (six offensive) and six assists, and in the process broke Illinois' freshman season scoring mark. Wagler entered the game with 490 points and pushed past the 494 mark set by Corey Bradford in 1998-99 (and tied last year by Kasparas Jakucionis) with a layup at the 16: 38 mark of the second half. Wagler scored 16 of his 19 in the second half and overtime and grabbed an offensive rebound and putback with just under five seconds left in overtime to put Illinois ahead 94-93 before Dent's final play.
How the game swung: runs, ties and clutch plays
Illinois led by as many as 23 in the first half after a 20-0 Illini run that turned a 13-10 margin into a 33-10 advantage, with Ben Humrichous draining four of his five 3-pointers during that spurt. UCLA closed the first half on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 50-43 at the break. Out of the break Illinois again reached double-figures before a 13-2 UCLA run knotted the game 56-56 with 14: 45 remaining in regulation. The second half featured nine more ties; Wagler's free throws with 19 seconds left forced overtime at 86-86. In the five-minute extra session, UCLA led 93-92 after Trent Perry hit two free throws with 16 seconds left, Humrichous' 3-pointer in the closing seconds of OT missed, and Wagler's putback produced the Illini edge that preceded Dent's finish.
Stat lines, records and context
Five Illinois players scored in double figures: Wagler, Tomislav Ivisic (16 points, six rebounds), Ben Humrichous (15 points on a career-best five 3-pointers), Kylan Boswell (13 points, six rebounds, five assists) and Zvonimir Ivisic (11 points). For UCLA, Eric Dailey Jr. led with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, Tyler Bilodeau had 18 points (2-of-5 from long range), Trent Perry finished with 17, and Xavier Booker scored 16 (2-of-3 from 3). The crowd was 10, 036 at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Dent's 15 assists were one shy of the UCLA single-game mark of 16 set by Earl Watson on March 18, 2000, in an NCAA Tournament game against Maryland. UCLA's comeback was the largest in school history, surpassing a 19-point rally in a home win over Oregon on February 23, 2019, that ended 90-83.
Aftermath and what's next
Illinois fell 95-94 and is now 22-6 overall and 13-4 in Big Ten play; the program has lost each of its last three Big Ten defeats in overtime over the past two weeks, and its four conference losses have come by a combined nine points. UCLA improved to 18-9, 10-6 in conference play and picked up its third win in five games, snapping a two-game skid. Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach, said, "Great college basketball game, and that's the second team to come in here as the number one offensive team in the country, and we got a win, " and credited halftime adjustments and intensity that helped the comeback.
The Illini return home to a sold-out State Farm Center on Friday to host No. 1 Michigan (25-2, 15-1 B1G); tipoff between the Fighting Illini and the Wolverines is set for 7 p. m. CT on FOX. The use of software that blocks ads hinders the ability to serve the content; readers were asked to consider turning off ad blockers to improve the experience.
