Hoosiers Survive in Double Overtime Thriller

Saturday, January 31

Los Angeles, Calif.

5:00 PM

Indiana University

15-7,6-5Big Ten

UCLA

15-7,7-4Big Ten

OT 1

OT 2

Indiana

UCLA

1/31/2026 7:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

LOS ANGELES – Pressure? Freshman forward Trent Sisley had it. Saturday night's double-overtime thriller at UCLA came down to a huge rise-to-the-moment challenge.

Sisley met it.

Fight? Resolve? They were all there with three Hoosiers fouled out, stretching them to the breaking point; with the Bruins wiping out a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation that would have broken a lesser team.

The Hoosiers (15-7 overall, 6-5 in the Big Ten) didn't break. They gutted out a 98-97 victory, their third straight win and second against a top Big Ten team in a follow up to Tuesday night's upset of No. 12 Purdue.

"They didn't give into it," coach Darian DeVries told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during the postgame radio show. "That's what makes all of us in the locker room, everyone who supports us, our fans, that's what they want to see -- that fight and resolve. These guys had an unbelievable double overtime to pull out a win."

Or, as guard Nick Dorn put it, "From top to bottom, everybody had a significant part in the game. It shows how connected we are as a team and how we're growing as a team."

Take Sisley, who missed all three of his field goal attempts and then two of his first four free throw attempts. With the score tied at 97-97, he made the game winning free throw.

"Trent wasn't scared of the moment," Darian DeVries told Fischer. "He went in there, battled and made plays. To have a freshman make a play with a second left, knock down the winning free throw, that takes some guts."

Take Dorn, who was a second-half force of basketball nature. He scored 21 of his 26 points after halftime, and added seven rebounds. He played 48 minutes and made six 3-pointers for the second time in three games.

Take guard Lamar Wilkerson, who had 25 points and eight rebounds, or forward Reed Bailey, who had 24 points, six rebounds, and five assists before fouling out, or forward Tucker DeVries, who had nine points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, or guard Conor Enright with five points and seven assists before fouling out, or forward Sam Alexis, who had crucial down-the-stretch points and rebounds to finish with seven points and three rebounds.

Bailey, Enright, and Jasai Miles fouled out. Dorn finished with four fouls.

"We were in a really good spot (with that 10-point lead)," Darian DeVries told Fischer, "And then things happened. We didn't want them to happen, but they did. The hardest thing in sports sometimes is still stay in the fight when everything goes wrong that you couldn't even imagine, when you can feel the pressure and think, we just blew it. We didn't do it."

IU fell behind by nine points in the first half, rallied to take that 10-point second half lead, and withstood multiple UCLA surges in a game that featured 15 lead changes and 13 ties.

"I'm proud of this group," Darian DeVries told Fischer. "Every guy who sat on the bench and got in the game contributed.

"We were running out of bodies. It was a good, good hard-fought win. It was a heck of an environment in here. Road wins are hard, in this league especially. Whatever you have to do, we'll take it.

"Our guys found a way. It was a gutsy, gutsy win."

UCLA (15-7, 7-4) had been 12-0 at Pauley Pavillion before Saturday night, and had won three straight.

"I loved the fight we showed," Darian DeVries told Fischer. "It was an overall great effort."

Tucker DeVries opened IU's scoring with a 3-pointer, but turnovers (five) and poor shooting (3-for-9) were problems in the first eight minutes. Still, the Hoosiers only trailed 9-7.

Two Wilkerson 3-pointers (one that was part of a four-point play) highlighted a 12-0 run as IU surged to a 22-16 lead. The Bruins rallied for a 30-25 lead with three minutes remaining.

Bailey's dunk ended UCLA's 9-0 run, but not its momentum. The Bruins surged ahead 36-27 before Bailey ended the half with a three-point play -- a dunk from a pass by Tucker DeVries, a foul and a made free throw -- and a 36-30 score. He had 10 points. Wilkerson had nine points and five rebounds.

Dorn opened the second half with a pair of free throws. His two 3-pointers tied the score at 40-40 four minutes into the second half. Another Dorn 3-pointer gave the Hoosiers a 45-43 lead. They kept pushing ahead by two points. UCLA kept pushing for a tie.

A Bailey dunk gave IU a 56-52 lead with eight minutes left. Bailey's two free throws and then a layup and another free throw pushed the Hoosiers ahead 63-54. Wilkerson and Enright 3-pointers built the lead to 10. Dorn's sixth 3-pointer made it 71-61 with just under two minutes left.

The Bruins hit a 3-pointer and ramped up the full-court pressure. They cut it to four points with 50 seconds left in regulation. Wilkerson hit a pair of free throws. UCLA countered with a layup and then closed within two. Bailey hit a pair of free throws for a 75-71 lead with nine seconds left. The Bruins made two more free throws. Bailey made one free throw. UCLA's Trent Perry hit a 3-pointer with one second left to force overtime.

With Enright having fouled out, and Tayton Conerway sidelined with an ankle injury, IU finished the game without a point guard.

Tucker DeVries opened the first overtime with a basket. UCLA tied it with a pair of Perry free throws. Miles fouled out. So did Bailey. Perry hit two more free throws for an 81-78 Bruin lead. Wilkerson hit a jumper and then a layup for an 82-81 IU lead. UCLA got a free throw and a layup to go ahead by two. Alexis's layup forced a second overtime period.

Wilkerson opened it with two free throws. Sisley grabbed a key rebound and made a free throw. UCLA made two free throws for an 88-87 lead. Wilkerson scored. The Bruins scored. Sisley's free throw tied it at 90-90 with two minutes left.

A Perry 3-pointer gave UCLA a lead. Alexis cut it to one with two free throws. Tucker DeVries' two free throws pushed IU ahead 94-93 with a minute left. After two UCLA free throws, Wilkerson's layup made it 96-95 IU. Alexis grabbed a rebound, was fouled and hit a free throw. UCLA tied it at 97-97 with five seconds left.

Sisley's free throw won it.

Indiana's West Coast trip continues at USC (15-6, 4-6) on Tuesday night.

"Our guys are playing with confidence," Darian DeVries told Fischer. "Even during the losing streak, they never lost sight of who we were. We just weren't getting the results we wanted. We knew why. We just had to fix it.

"We're on the path there. This is just another game. We have a lot of games left. We go reset and try to do it again on the road on Tuesday. That's another big game."

Rest is important.

"After a double overtime, we have to get some legs refreshed and take care of ourselves and get ready for another huge fight on the road," Darian DeVries told Fischer.