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PHILADELPHIA — Some cried with towels covering their faces. Others roamed the room with a dazed expression.
Deep within the winding Xfinity Mobile Arena corridor and inside the UCLA locker room, silence washed over 15 players — six of whom had likely just donned the blue and gold jersey for the final time. Down the hall, a UConn placard was slapped on a lifesize bracket that signaled the Huskies’ third Sweet 16 appearance in the last four seasons.
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The Bruins knew it was an uphill battle. They knew they’d have to play perfect to stay close. But they couldn’t match the moment.
Without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau for a third straight game due to injury, their offense went dark and no one filled the void. No. 7-seeded UCLA made one of its last nine shots and didn’t score a point for a final 2:55 of Sunday’s NCAA tournament second-round clash with No. 2-seeded UConn. It resulted in a quiet, season-ending exit — the Bruins’ 73-57 loss marked their second-fewest points in a game this season.
Sophomore guard Trent Perry, tugging on his jersey and holding back tears, took accountability.
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“This tournament, I didn’t perform for my team at all,” he said. “I let my seniors down, I let my teammates down … I got to be better.”
UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry (0) dribbles the ball against the UConn Huskies in the first half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry (0) dribbles the ball against the UConn Huskies in the first half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
But it wasn’t a down year for Perry, who elevated his scoring average by nine points and showed star-level flashes. There was growth in the margins for the Bruins, who held a players-only meeting in February after dropping back-to-back games by 20-plus points before winning six of their next seven. Senior guard Donovan Dent made…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ucla-bows-ncaa-tournament-round-063447194.html
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Publish date : 2026-03-23 06:34:00
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