LOS ANGELES – UCLA’s prayer was answered. The Bruins, trailing by 10 with less than two minutes remaining, tied the game on a Trent Perry 3-pointer with just seconds left on the clock to force overtime.
Indiana’s bench looked incredulous. What looked like a third straight victory for the Hoosiers disappeared in a matter of minutes and the noise in Pauley Pavilion increased as Jasai Miles’ full-court play fell short. Still in awe of the events, Darian DeVries’ team had to prepare for another five minutes of action.
The theme of the meeting? Four relatively simple words from veteran Tucker DeVries.
“Flush it. Next play.”
The mantra suddenly became the battle cry of the next 10 minutes of game action. Undeterred by the late-game collapse, Indiana fought through two overtimes. The Hoosiers fell behind in the final minute of both periods, but found a way out. Freshman Trent Sisley made a free throw with 0.3 left to secure Indiana’s thrilling 98-97 victory.
“I thought it showed a lot of grit, a lot of character, a lot of poise from a lot of different guys and the ability to be ready when your number is called,” Darian DeVries said afterward. “So overall I’m just happy with how they were able to fight.”
Indiana’s resilience won out, but the victory was far from easy.
The misfortunes mounted when the Hoosiers’ already thin depth chart was trimmed when starting guard Conor Enright fouled with less than 10 seconds remaining in regulation. Without Enright and Tayton Conerway, who missed his third straight game with an ankle injury, Indiana lacked a ballhandler.
Reed Bailey fouled out with 2:46 left in the first overtime period, further depleting Indiana’s bench. Bailey, who scored a season-high 24 points, was forced to watch on the sidelines as his teammates finished the game.
There were blank stares from the Indiana bench as key players watched from the sidelines. The despair wouldn’t last long, but turned to hope as the five on the floor fought their way to the next play.
Stops, scores and everything in between during the two-five minute periods were about the team.
Whether it was Lamar Wilkerson’s 10 points in the two overtimes, Sisley’s game-winning free throw or Tucker DeVries’ defensive rebounds, nothing could stop the group from achieving a team victory.
From top to bottom, each of the eight players in crimson uniforms had a hand in victory. Nick Dorn fell unconscious and scored 21 points in the second half to finish with a season-high 26 points. Sam Alexis converted on three shots from the free throw line in overtime. The list goes on.
Individual statistics didn’t matter. It was about getting an elusive road win – Indiana’s third in conference play – against a UCLA team that came into Saturday at home a pristine 12-0.
Players hugged each other and walked to the locker room to loud cheers from the Indiana contingent in the stands.
“I feel like this just shows how connected we are as a team and how we’re growing as a team,” Dorn said. “Every time we step on the field, it becomes even brighter.”
Indiana could have chosen to concede late. But like Tuesday’s win against No. 12 Purdue, it bent but refused to break.
The close-knit group – which met in Bloomington in early June – didn’t want to let the game go. They had come so far to get so close and it felt like they had to win the game. A win was needed to get the two-game trip to the West Coast off to a good start.
“We came all this way,” Dorn said. “We didn’t want the days in between to be terrible.
“If we hadn’t taken that out, it would have been scary for us; you might not have heard from us.”
Indiana has undeniably strengthened its resume this past week. Securing a pair of quad-one wins in five days is a big step toward an NCAA tournament bid.
Darian DeVries, however, does not think that far ahead.
“If you pile up enough of it, it will be what it will be, but we can’t worry about that,” he said. “We have to control what we can control right in front of us.”
The durability Indiana showed after its lowest moments late in the second half showed the true identity of this year’s team. It revealed that even in a challenging circumstance, the veteran-filled squad will look to push themselves to victory.
“They’re just playing their guts out right now, and that’s what I like about them,” Darian DeVries said. “They give us everything they have, and they left it all, and luckily we were able to come away with a win.”
The team’s season was not on the line Saturday. The March Madness chances still would have had longevity regardless of the outcome in Westwood.
Yet the Hoosiers played overtime as if the outcome would determine their fate in March.
The focus now shifts to the next game: the second of Indiana’s two games in Los Angeles against Southern California (USC) on Tuesday.
It’s Indiana’s chance to build on Saturday afternoon’s momentum as she tests herself to live up to her mantra:
“Flush it. Next play.”
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
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