LOS ANGELES — No matter where you looked Sunday afternoon, Pauley Pavilion was washed in tie-dye.

Everyone from The Den student section to a sprinkle of many more UCLA fans were decked in every color and shade of the rainbow, and the arena DJ worked a few Grateful Dead hit songs into the rotation. The Bruins’ coaches and players — and even the CBS television camera crew — brought their own flavor, too, filling into the arena as early as two hours prior to tip-off against Ohio State to pay their respects to the life of late Hall of Famer Bill Walton, who died last May at 71 from cancer.

Oh, and there was a men’s basketball game played between the love fest, and a career coaching milestone for UCLA head coach Mick Cronin to go with it. By the end of the day, the players traded the Walton T-shirts for ones commemorating Cronin's 500th career victory after overcoming a lackluster start to defeat Ohio State 69-61.

Cronin became the 18th active Division I men's head coach, and youngest at 53, to reach the mark. Him and Texas Christian head coach Jamie Dixon, 59, are the only active members of the club under 60.

UCLA (20-8, 11-6 Big Ten) bounced back from blowing a 17-point lead and losing in its last outing six days ago against Minnesota. To do so, the Bruins had to erase the memory of a 32.4% shooting display in the first half against the Buckeyes.

UCLA made 12 of 23 shots in the second half (52.2%) and got a team-high 20 points from wing Eric Dailey Jr., who finished 8 of 15 from the field including three made 3-pointers.

The Bruins had four players score in double figures, including 13 points from guard Skyy Clark and 11 and 10, respectively, from reserves Sebastian Mack and Aday Mara.

Ohio State (15-13, 7-10 Big Ten), which lost its third consecutive game, was not able to recover after opening 9 of 33 from the field and shot 31.7% (20 of 63) for the contest. Guard Bruce Thornton was the Buckeyes' lone double-figure scorer with 21 points, but he was just 7 of 17 from the field.

The action, to borrow a Walton-ism, looked more like the worst offensive display in the history of Western civilization through one half. At one point, the teams combined to miss 18 consecutive shot attempts before the completion of the game's first eight minutes.

Clinging to a 28-24 lead at halftime, UCLA got an immediate jolt from Dailey. He accounted for the team’s first nine points in the second half and pushed the lead to seven points.

Ohio State pulled within 39-37 after a Ques Glover layup, but the Bruins responded with a 9-3 run capped by a pair of strong Mara finishes around the basket with 10:24 left.

The Buckeyes never made a serious run the rest of the way.

UCLA needed everything from the recently slumping sophomore.

Dailey entered the contest shooting just 13 for his last 35 over the past five games.

So, on a day that featured a premium on made baskets, he was one of the few consistent sources of production. Dailey made 4 of 6 attempts in the second half.

The 7-foot-3 sophomore collected nine rebounds, blocked two shots and collected a steal in his 20 minutes off the bench.

Mara's effort was big, particularly after forward Tyler Bilodeau picked up his third foul during the opening seconds of the second half.

The Bruins got back to playing the type of tough basketball Cronin prides his teams on.

UCLA maintained its first-half rebounding advantage and finished with a 45-34 edge on the glass, including 15-13 on offensive boards.

The Bruins also limited the Buckeyes to a 6-of-27 output on 3-point attempts.

The UCLA program honored Walton throughout the game and with a halftime ceremony. Here’s how things looked throughout the afternoon: