UCLA beats Gonzaga in a nail-biting matchup at the Intuit Dome

No crazy buzzer beater. No surprise at the last minute.

After so much heartache for so many years, UCLA finally shook off the Gonzaga curse under coach Mick Cronin on Saturday afternoon at the Intuit Dome.

It looked like more misfortune was in store for the Bruins when Sebastian Mack fouled Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard on a layup with 8.1 seconds left, sending Nembhard to the line for a free throw that could have tied the score.

But the basketball gods finally smiled on the Bruins.

Nembhard missed the free throw and UCLA’s Skyy Clark chased down the rebound before being fouled. He made both free throws to give the No. 22 Bruins a stunning 65-62 victory over the No. 14 Bulldogs.

Sitting on the court, UCLA guard Trent Perry and his teammate Eric Dailey Jr. both scream after Perry fouled on a three-point shot on Saturday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

It was the first win over Gonzaga for Cronin at UCLA after losing his first four meetings, including two gut-wrenching blows on game-winning shots in the NCAA Tournament.

A heavily pro-Bruins crowd cheered the team on its way off the field after overcoming its 16-point loss to North Carolina last weekend.

Forward Eric Dailey Jr. scored 18 points, leading four players in double figures for the Bruins (11-2), who made 12 of 24 3-pointers.

Gonzaga (9-4) had several chances to grab another late win. Bulldogs guard Dusty Stromer rose for a three-pointer that could have given his team the lead with 17 seconds left, but the shot missed and Clark grabbed the rebound before being fouled.

Clark made both free throws to give the Bruins a 63-62 lead. UCLA was the team that needed some luck this time.

Mack redeemed himself – giving the Bruins a 61-60 lead with 33 seconds left – when he made a floater when he was fouled. He sank the free throw after missing twice on his team’s previous possession.

Gonzaga forward Graham Ike was a problem for the Bruins throughout the game as he scored in a variety of ways around the basket, finishing with 24 points on 11-for-16 shooting.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs unleashed the kind of aggressive defense usually associated with the Bruins, making every UCLA possession a slog. As point guard Dylan Andrews’ weakness continued to worsen, the Bruins often struggled to get good shots – or, in some cases, any shot at all while committing shot clock violations.

Andrews was benched in favor of Mack, who made the play his team needed.

The halftime score – UCLA 27, Gonzaga 25 – appeared to be a misprint considering the Bruins shot just 29% and had nine turnovers. The advantage was largely due to UCLA making five of 12 three-pointers (compared to Gonzaga’s two of 11), forcing the Bulldogs to commit 11 turnovers and grabbing two more rebounds than their opponents.

It appeared the Bruins were headed for a much larger cushion after Clark used a crossover move to break free for a jumper that capped his team’s 11-0 run and gave UCLA a 24-13 lead provided.

Tensions briefly rose late in the first half when Gonzaga defenseman Khalif Battle was assessed a 2-0 foul and sent off for hitting Dailey. The contact caused Cronin to remove his suit jacket before speaking to the officials about the game.

The loss of their third-leading scorer seemed to motivate the Bulldogs for the rest of the first half. They held UCLA scoreless for more than four minutes while jumping out to a 9-0 lead that largely wiped out the Bruins’ big lead.

According to a team spokesman, UCLA played without center William Kyle III, who was sidelined with an unspecified medical issue.