LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tyler Bilodeau and Trent Perry combined for 28 first-half points and finished with 18 points apiece, leading UCLA to a 71-64 victory over Northwestern on Saturday night.
UCLA used a 10-0 surge to take a 41-27 lead late in the first half and led 41-31 at the break. The Bruins had its largest lead, 58-42 with 12:50 to play. Later in the second half, Northwestern's 7-0 spurt cut its deficit to 62-56. Jamar Brown answered with a 3-pointer and the Bruins then sealed it from the free-throw line.
Bilodeau didn't miss a shot in the first half, going 6 of 6 from the floor with four 3-pointers. He made a layup early in the second half before finally missing on a 3-pointer with 6:43 to play. He finished 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and 4 of 8 from long range. Perry scored 12 first-half points and and was 6 of 12 overall.
Donovan Dent, who scored 23 points and had 13 assists in the Bruins' 69-67 win over No. 4 Purdue on Wednesday, added 13 points and five assists against the Wildcats.
Eric Dailey Jr. chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds for UCLA (14-6, 6-3 Big Ten), which has won four of its last five games.
Nick Martinelli scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Northwestern (9-11, 1-8). Tre Singleton had 12 points and six rebounds. The Wildcats have lost six of their last seven games.
UCLA is 7-1 in the series.
UCLA: At Oregon on Wednesday.
Northwestern: Hosts Penn State on Thursday.
Northwestern guard Jake West, center, shoots as UCLA guard Trent Perry, left, and forward Xavier Booker defend during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Northwestern forward Tre Singleton, right, tries to shoot as UCLA forward Steven Jamerson II defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
ROME (AP) — Baseball rivalry couldn't be averted when Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson — a Cubs fan — met privately Thursday with Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native and lifelong White Sox fan.
Johnson diplomatically brought gifts from both cross-town rivals, and asked the pope to come visit his hometown. But when he handed the pope a Cubs hat, the pontiff noted he already was wearing a cap — a white zucchetto, or skull cap worn by pontiffs.
“I was able to proudly offer him up the Cubs hat, of which he made it very clear that he was already wearing one,” Johnson told reporters after the private meeting with Leo at the Vatican.
“When we sat down before we took the group picture, he said he was grateful that we’re all coming together uniting, you know Cubs fans, Sox fans,” Johnson said.
Johnson is a progressive Democrat and leading critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, who is serving his first term as mayor of the third-largest city in the U.S. During the private meeting with the pope, Johnson applauded Leo for pushing back against the war in Iran and Trump administration immigration policies.
“First of all, I just thanked him for his courage. I thanked him for his moral stance against these endless wars," Johnson said. He said the pope asked him specifically about Immigration and Customs Enforcement deployment and its impact on the city.
Johnson said the pontiff "was very gracious and very encouraging" about a series of executive orders that he had issued to push back against federal immigration enforcement operations in Chicago.
Trump has frequently criticized Leo for his anti-war stance, to which Leo responded with increasingly bold retorts — all leading to a fence-mending visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month.
Johnson took the opportunity to invite Leo to his hometown next year, recalling Pope John Paul II’s visit to Chicago and Mass in Grant Park on Oct. 5, 1979, “forever remembered as the most spiritually inspiring day in Chicago history.”
“Your Holiness, you were a young priest-in-training at the time. Perhaps you were there. Perhaps you would consider a repeat Papal visit nearly 50 years later to share your own message of hope, unity and service,’’ Johnson wrote in a letter he presented to the pope with the formal invitation.
Johnson, who grew up the son of a pastor, invited the pope to say Mass in Grant Park in 2027, noting that Chicago is home to one of the largest Catholic populations in the United States.
It’s at least the second official invitation that Leo has received to visit the United States. U.S. Vice President JD Vance invited Leo soon after he became pope last May.
Leo was born Robert Prevost in 1955 in the South Side of Chicago neighborhood of Bronzeville and grew up in suburban Dolton, near St. Mary of the Assumption, where he attended Mass and elementary school.
He later studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago in Hyde Park and taught in local Catholic schools.
AP writer Colleen Barry contributed from Milan.
Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson attends a press briefing in Rome, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson attends a press briefing in Rome, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson attends a press briefing in Rome, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV waves as he leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
