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UCLA Basketball: Bruins Lose Heartbreaker to Utah on Last Second Game-Winner

UCLA falls to Utah again.

Eva Geitheim

UCLA Basketball: Bruins Lose Heartbreaker to Utah on Last Second Game-Winner
UCLA Basketball: Bruins Lose Heartbreaker to Utah on Last Second Game-Winner /
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In the rematch of UCLA's 90-44 loss to Utah in January, the Bruins fell just short of getting vengeance against the Utes. The Bruins lost a heartbreaking game as Utah sealed the game-winning shot with just .2 seconds left on the clock, winning 70-69.

While this loss was not in blowout fashion like the prior game, this is a different kind of heartbreaker as UCLA came up just short of a win.

UCLA's Dylan Andrews had just hit a two-point basket for the Bruins to take a 69-68 lead over Utah with just 6.3 seconds left on the clock, but that was enough for the Utes to sneak in a game-winner.

The game was tight throughout, with UCLA taking a narrow 36-34 lead at the half. This lead wasn't enough, as Utah managed to stay in the game the entire time, and go back and forth with UCLA until they snuck away with the win.

This loss snaps the Bruins six-game winning streak that had them rolling through February. Though the Bruins were much more competitive against Utah this time around than when they suffered their second-worst lost in program history 38 days ago, they were unable to get a crucial win.

The Bruins faced adversity early on when their leading scorer, Sebastian Mack, was ejected after an unnecessary blow at Utah's Branden Carlson. The blow trigged a flagrant-2 foul that resulted in Mack's ejection. 

Without Mack, the Bruins relied on Lazar Stefanovic going up against his former team with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Andrews finished second in points with 15 points, two rebounds and one assist.

However, this would not be enough for UCLA to get a win. Utah did a good job limiting Adem Bona to just seven points, three rebounds and two assists.

Now, the Bruins fall to 14-12 overall with a 9-6 conference record. The Bruins will get a shot at a rebound next week when they take on USC.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Communication. She has been covering college and professional sports since 2022.