UCLA beats Gonzaga in a nail-biter at the Intuit Dome

No crazy buzzer beaters. No last minute miracle.

After so much heartbreak over so many years, UCLA finally shook off its Gonzaga jinx under coach Mick Cronin on Saturday afternoon at the Intuit Dome.

It looked like the Bruins might be in for more misfortune when Sebastian Mack hit Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard on a driving layup with 8.1 seconds left, sending Nembhard to the line for the tying free throw.

But the basketball gods finally smiled on the Bruins.

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

UCLA guard Trent Perry, sitting courtside, and teammate Eric Dailey Jr. both yell after Perry fouled a three-point shot Saturday.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

It was the first win over Gonzaga for Cronin at UCLA after dropping his first four meetings, including a pair of heartbreakers on game-winning strikes in the NCAA Tournament.

A heavily pro-Bruins crowd cheered the team off the field after shaking off its 16-point collapse against North Carolina from last weekend.

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

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

Clark made both of his free throws, giving the Bruins a 63-62 lead. UCLA was the team that needed a little luck this time.

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

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

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs unleashed the kind of harassing defense usually associated with the Bruins, turning every UCLA possession into a blowout. With point guard Dylan Andrews’ slump deeper, the Bruins often struggled to produce good shots — or in a few cases, any shots — while committing a shot-clock violation.

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

The halftime score — UCLA 27, Gonzaga 25 — looked like a printing error as the Bruins shot just 29% and committed nine turnovers. The advantage came mostly thanks to UCLA making five of 12 three-pointers (compared to Gonzaga’s two of 11), forcing the Bulldogs into 11 turnovers and grabbing two more rebounds than their opponents.

The Bruins looked like they were headed for a much bigger cushion after Clark used a crossover move to break free for a jumper that capped an 11-0 run for his team, giving UCLA a 24- 13 lead.

Tensions rose momentarily late in the first half when Gonzaga guard Khalif Battle was called a flagrant 2 foul and ejected for hitting Dailey, and the contact prompted Cronin to discard his suit before talking to officials about the play.

The loss of their third leading scorer seemed to embolden the Bulldogs for the rest of the first half. They went on to hold UCLA scoreless for more than four minutes while rolling away with a 9-0 push that erased most of the Bruins’ large lead.

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