UCLA’s March Madness win over UCF on Friday looked almost like a hockey game, at least during one moment.
While fighting for a loose ball late in the second half during the first-round matchup, Bruins guard Skyy Clark got part of his front tooth knocked out after senior Knights guard Themus Fulks elbowed him in the mouth during the scuffle.
Once the play was over, Clark sat up and pointed to his smashed right front tooth, with half of it on the court at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Despite being initially slow to get up, Clark eventually made his way to the bench with 2:40 remaining, before returning to the game just moments later in UCLA’s eventual 75-71 win.
Clark hit a free throw in the game’s final seconds to seal the victory for UCLA, with the Bruins now set to face either UConn or Furman on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I’ve been wanting us to look tougher,” Bruins head coach Mick Cronin said of Clark’s busted tooth following the game, according to 247Sports.
He finished the game with eight points and two steals while shooting 3-of-5 from the field in 20 minutes of play.
The Bruins won Friday’s game without their leading scorer, as Tyler Bilodeau was experiencing soreness in his right knee during morning shootaround and pregame warmups.
Following the game, Cronin told reporters that he held Bilodeau out because he did not like how he was moving around in warmups.
“Hopefully he has a good day tomorrow and we’ll see on Sunday,” Cronin said.
In Bilodeau’s absence, junior guard Eric Dailey Jr. led the way on offense for the Bruins, scoring 20 points with two steals and two blocks while shooting 8-for-17.
