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March Madness roundup: UCLA outlasts Alabama in OT to reach Elite Eight

UCLA men's basketball coach Mick Cronin and the Bruins will face No. 1 seed Michigan in the Elite Eight on Tuesday. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
UCLA men's basketball coach Mick Cronin and the Bruins will face No. 1 seed Michigan in the Elite Eight on Tuesday. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

March 28 (UPI) -- The No. 11 seed UCLA Bruins booked their first trip to the Elite Eight since 2008 with an 88-78 overtime win over second-seeded Alabama on Sunday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

The Bruins are scheduled to play the top-seeded Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday for a spot in the Final Four.

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UCLA appeared to have the game won in regulation when Cody Riley's basket gave the Bruins a 63-62 lead with 14 seconds remaining. Crimson Tide star Herbert Jones then missed both of his free-throw attempts with six seconds left to put Alabama on the brink of elimination.

Bruins guard David Singleton was fouled and made two free throws, extending UCLA's lead to 65-62 with four seconds to go. But the Crimson Tide had just enough time to get the ball in the hands of Alex Reese, who sank a 3-pointer right before the buzzer to send the game to overtime.

The Bruins shook off Reese's clutch shot and scored the first five points of overtime. UCLA ultimately outscored the Crimson Tide 23-13 in the extra frame.

"We weren't good enough to beat them tonight. They were better," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "We had all the momentum going into overtime. They could have folded. They didn't. They came out and punched us in the mouth."

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Jules Bernard and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each scored 17 points for the Bruins (21-9). Singleton had 15 points off the bench, while Johnny Juzang and Tyger Campbell both notched 13 points.

Jahvon Quinerly led the Crimson Tide (26-7) with 20 points on 8-of-22 shooting. John Petty Jr. recorded 16 points, and Keon Ellis tallied 10 points and nine rebounds.

Also Sunday, both No. 1 seeds, Gonzaga and Michigan, cruised to blowout victories in the Sweet 16. The Bulldogs earned an 83-65 win over No. 5 seed Creighton, while the Wolverines reached the Elite Eight following their 76-58 win over fourth-seeded Florida State.

In the final game of the round of 32, the sixth-seeded USC Trojans defeated No. 7 seed Oregon 82-68 to advance to the Elite Eight. The Trojans will play the Zags on Tuesday in the next round of the tournament.

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