Lu’Cye Patterson drove for the go-ahead layup with seven seconds remaining and Minnesota recovered from a 17-point first-half deficit to post a stunning 64-61 victory over UCLA on Tuesday night in Big Ten play at Los Angeles.
Dawson Garcia scored 27 of his season-best 32 points in the second half for the Golden Gophers (14-12, 6-9 Big Ten), who led for just 26 seconds while pulling off their second consecutive late-game comeback victory.
UCLA’s Sebastian Mack was called for an offensive foul with 1.7 seconds left before Garcia made two free throws with 0.9 seconds left as Minnesota spoiled Bruins coach Mick Cronin’s bid for his 500th career victory.
Mike Mitchell Jr. added 14 points and Patterson scored 11 for the Golden Gophers, who won for the sixth time in their past nine games.
Mack had 13 points and Kobe Johnson and Tyler Bilodeau added 12 points apiece for the Bruins (19-8, 10-6). UCLA lost for just the second time in its past 10 games.
The Bruins were just 5 of 15 from the free-throw line in the second half to aid Minnesota’s comeback bid. Bilodeau missed two foul shots with 1:25 left, and Eric Dailey Jr. missed two with 17 seconds to play. UCLA led by one on both occasions.
Patterson’s layup with 1:02 remaining gave Minnesota its first lead of the game at 60-59.
Mack then drove to the basket for UCLA, and his layup hit the rim three times before dropping through with 44.5 seconds remaining.
Patterson later converted what ended up being the game-winning basket for the second straight stellar comeback. On Saturday, Minnesota closed the game with an 8-0 burst to register a 69-66 victory over host Southern California.
The Golden Gophers connected on 45.8 percent of their shots, including 8 of 24 from behind the arc.
UCLA shot 45.1 percent from the field and knocked down 6 of 15 attempts from 3-point range. The Bruins were 9 of 19 from the free-throw line, while Minnesota made 12 of 13 foul shots.
Minnesota trailed by eight with under four minutes remaining before Garcia scored six straight points.
Johnson made a jumper to give UCLA a 59-55 lead with 2:36 left before Garcia drilled a 3-pointer with 2:05 left to make it a one-point game.
The Golden Gophers trailed by 17 in the first half before trimming their deficit to 11 at halftime and then to three early in the second half.
Minnesota opened the second half with a 10-2 spurt, with Frank Mitchell’s layup cutting its deficit to 36-33 with 15:17 remaining.
Skyy Clark’s steal and layup gave UCLA a 57-49 lead with 4:18 remaining before the Golden Gophers made their charge.
Bilodeau scored nine first-half points, and UCLA led 34-23 at the break.
–Field Level Media
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