Arizona Withstands Late Run by Washington for Wild Win

Filed under: Arizona, Washington, Pac-10

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Washington Huskies made the second half interesting with a torrid comeback, but it was the 12th-ranked Arizona Wildcats who were able to hold on by the slimmest margins during Saturday night's 87-86 victory at the McKale Center.

This was easily the Wildcats' most signature win to date and the one that could have punched their stamp back into the NCAA Tournament and cemented their hold on the Pac-10 regular-season title.

But the Pac-10-leading Wildcats weren't assured of their eighth straight win until they got a couple improbable deflections by star sophomore Derrick Williams inside the final second of the game. Williams came up with a huge block on a shot by Darnell Gant, and then Williams rejected an inbounds pass to Matthew Bryan-Amaning to end the game.

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Up until that point it appeared to be anybody's game as the lead changed several times in the final minutes, which was in stark contrast to the first half and early second half when the Wildcats led by as many as 12 points. But due in large part to some careless turnovers by Arizona, combined with the dominance of Amaning inside during the second half, the Huskies (18-8, 10-5 Pac-10) took the lead late in the second half.

But the Wildcats (23-4, 12-2) regained the lead for good on a layup by Solomon Hill with :17.6 seconds remaining on the clock. But even then, Arizona needed three huge defensive plays from Williams, including a forced travel on Amaning, in order to secure the win.

Williams led the Wildcats with 26 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. Lamont Jones (15), Jesse Perry (11) and reserve Kevin Parrom (11) also scored in double figures.

Amaning led the Huskies by scoring 18 of his team-high 24 points (12-of-19 shooting) in the second half.

How It Was Won: In a tight game where every shot counted this was won at the 3-point line where the Wildcats converted 11 of 18 treys for 33 of their points.

How It Was Lost: The Huskies had trouble taking advantage of numerous second half turnovers and that caught up with them in the end.

Key Stat: Arizona converted 16-of-18 shots from the free-throw line.

What we liked/Don't like: Arizona could have easily folded in this game after giving up a big lead, but the Wildcats showed great resolve late in the game by fighting back and coming away with a critical win.

 

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