With two minutes remaining in the game, the scored was tied at 69 after the Bruins' Lucius Allen made a pair of free throws. Hayes took a shot and was fouled by Bruins reserve Jim Nielsen. Hayes, playing with four fouls in the second half, scored two free throws. The Bruins still had time to score, but an attempted basket by Allen would not drop. On the last possession, UCLA's All-American guard Mike Warren committed a rare mental error deflecting out of bounds a pass meant for UCLA's star shooter Lynn Shackelford, who was unguarded in the corner.