{"id":31244,"date":"2026-02-23T06:35:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=31244"},"modified":"2026-02-23T06:36:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:36:32","slug":"illinois-men-fall-on-buzzer-beat-to-ucla-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/sports\/basketball\/31244-illinois-men-fall-on-buzzer-beat-to-ucla-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"University Of Illinois Men Fall On Buzzer-Beater To UCLA Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image_print\"Print<\/span><\/a><\/div>

BY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES, Calif. \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>No. 10 Illinois led by as many as 23 in the first half and battled through a back-and-forth second half to force overtime before falling, 95-94, on a buzzer-beater Saturday night at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.<\/p>\n

Five Illini scored in double-figures, paced by 19 from\u00a0Keaton Wagler<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0who broke Illinois’ freshman season record for total points, while adding a game-high eight rebounds (six offensive) and a team-leading six assists.<\/p>\n

Wagler entered the game with 490 points and pushed past the mark of 494 \u2013 set by Corey Bradford in 1998-99 and tied last year by\u00a0Kasparas Jakucionis<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0\u2013 with a layup at the 16:38 mark on the second half.<\/p>\n

Wagler scored 16 of his 19 points in second half and overtime, including an offensive rebound and putback with just under five seconds left in the overtime period that gave the Illini a 94-93 lead. However, on the ensuing play, UCLA inbounded to Donovan Dent who raced up the floor, weaving through the Illini defense in 4.9 seconds to convert the game-winning layup as time expired.<\/p>\n

Tomislav Ivisic<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0recorded 16 points and six rebounds, and\u00a0Ben Humrichous<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0added 15 points on a career-best five 3-pointers.\u00a0Kylan Boswell<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0posted 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, and\u00a0Zvonimir Ivisic<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0recorded 11 points.<\/p>\n

Illinois (22-6, 13-4 B1G) has now fallen in overtime in each of the team’s last three losses to Big Ten foes over the last two weeks, and the Orange and Blue’s four Big Ten losses have come by a combined nine points.<\/p>\n

Four of Humrichous’ five 3-pointers came in a 20-0 run by the Illini that pushed a 13-10 lead to a 33-10 Illini advantage just past the midway point of the first half. UCLA chipped away at the Illini’s lead over the remainder of the period and closed the half on a 8-2 run to cut the Illini lead to 50-43 at the break.<\/p>\n

Out of the break, the Illini lead once again reached double-figures before UCLA a 13-2 UCLA run knotted the game, 56-56 with 14:45 left in regulation. The rest of the second half included nine more ties, including Wagler’s free-throws with 19 seconds left to send the game to overtime.<\/p>\n

Next up, the Illini return home to a sold-out State Farm Center Friday to host #1 Michigan (25-2, 15-1 B1G). Tipoff between the Fighting Illini and the Wolverines is set for 7 p.m. CT. on FOX.<\/p>\n

POSTGAME NOTES<\/h3>\n

Player Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n