UCLA Guard Loses Tooth, Sinks Free Throw, Flashes Smile

Skyy Clark walked into the UCLA locker room after a 75-71 NCAA tournament win over UCF with blood on his jersey and half a tooth missing. His response? A huge, gap-toothed grin and a joke about the tooth fairy.

The Bruins guard lost a chunk of his top front tooth late in Friday's game in Philadelphia when he dove for a loose ball and caught an elbow to the face. The tooth flew across the court as teammates and staff scrambled to find it.

Walk-on Jack Seidler spotted it first. "Somebody's got to get it, somebody's got to get it," everyone was yelling as Clark picked himself up off the floor.

But here's the remarkable part: Clark stayed in the game. With his mouth throbbing at what he called "a nine out of 10" on the pain scale, he sank a crucial free throw that helped seal the victory.

"I had my adrenaline going, so I really didn't feel it," Clark said afterward, speaking with a slight lisp that teammate Eric Dailey Jr. compared to boxer Mike Tyson.

Why This Inspires

In a world obsessed with highlight reels and stat lines, Clark's moment reminds us what toughness really means. It's not just physical strength but the choice to push through pain for something bigger than yourself.

Coach Mick Cronin couldn't hide his pride. "He just looked tough. In the locker room, smiling. There's blood." It was the kind of warrior moment that defines March Madness and shows young athletes everywhere what commitment looks like.

Seidler, the walk-on who found the tooth, had his own viral moment as his phone exploded with messages. But he deflected all attention back to Clark: "That's toughness right there. Losing half a tooth and coming back into the game to help us get the win."

Clark said he planned to put the tooth fragment under his pillow that night, though he admitted he'd probably need an oral surgeon more than the tooth fairy before Sunday's second-round matchup against UConn.

The image of Clark's bloodied smile says everything about the heart it takes to compete at this level and the joy that comes from winning together.