Bradley, Burries combine for 49 points in 87-80 win over Baylor

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries combined for 49 points, hitting 16 of 30 from the field, including 6 of 11 three-pointers, to lead Arizona to an 87-80 win over Baylor tonight in Waco, Texas.

Bradley scored 25 points and sank five buckets from long range in his 35 minutes on the court, while Burries played 39 minutes, scored 24, made some key free throws down the stretch, and committed zero turnovers as Arizona takes a two-game lead in the Big 12 Conference with a 13-2 record.

The 2nd-ranked Wildcats, down by seven at the end of the first half, stepped it up with a 53-point effort in the final twenty minutes to knock off the Bears and improve their overall record to 26-2.

Next up: Kansas at McKale on Saturday.

From the desk of a diehard Wildcats' fan! 

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Attention Houston: You have a problem

 Arizona Wildcats Basketball

The 4th-ranked Arizona Wildcats went into Houston today, down two players, and up against a Cougars team ranked second in the country and unbeaten at home all year.

Until today.

Houston had a problem this afternoon, and it wasn't coming from Apollo 13. Instead, the Cougars committed 12 turnovers, and the visiting Wildcats turned the miscues into 16 points and went on to a 73-66 win, moving back into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 Conference.

Arizona received another 22-point shooting performance from Anthony Dell'Orso, 17 from Jaden Bradley, and 16 from Ivan Kharchenkov to get the job done as the Wildcats improved to 25-2 and 12-2 in the conference, one game ahead of the Cougars.

Way to go, Wildcats!

Arizona's Dell'Orso nets a career-high 22 in win over BYU

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

from the desk of Dan Price

Anthony Dell'Orso hit 4 of 8 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 22 points to lead 4th-ranked Arizona to a 75-68 win over BYU tonight at McKale.

Arizona, without star freshman Koa Peat out with a leg injury, had four players finish in double figures -- including 18 from Ivan Kharchenkov, 12 by Jaden Bradley, and 11 from Brayden Burries.

Arizona improves to 24-2 overall and moves into a tie for the top spot in the Big 12 standings at 11-2 with 2nd-ranked Houston. The Wildcats head to Houston on Saturday for a showdown with the Cougars (23-2). 

The Big 12 Conference is brutal for all involved, and the Wildcats' trip to Houston will be more of the same.

Go, Wildcats! 

The Days of the old Westerns

 

I loved the old Westerns.

 I sat in front of the television set in the early 1950s, my gun and holster strapped to my 13-inch waist. Why I brought that up, I do not know. I guess because I had that youthful look back then, and now, in 2026, I have trouble fastening a belt.

I grew up loving the shoot-’em-up Westerns …my television heroes like Hopalong Cassidy, The Cisco Kid…and The Lone Ranger.

At the box office: The bigger-than-life movies like High Noon…Hondo…Man Without A Star…Shane — all of them would keep me in my seat to the very end.

Later in life, I graduated from Western Movies 101 to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly…Once Upon a Time in the West…Lonesome Dove…Unforgiven… all bigger-than-life Westerns seen through the eyes of an adult.

At the movies, as a young man, I would settle in my seat, juggle the box of popcorn and the soda in my lap, but keep my eyes focused on the large screen in front of me.

I would memorize the names that suddenly appeared on the screen: the headliners like John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, Glen Ford, and Robert Taylor, but I wouldn’t stop there as I memorized the list of the supporting cast as well — actors like Walter Brennan, Noah Berry Jr., Chill Wills…and the ugly ones, too, like Jack Elam and Strother Martin.

Well, I could go on and name them all.

I recognized the cowgirls also: the ladies like Joan Crawford in Johnny Guitar; Grace Kelly in High Noon; Dorothy Malone in the Last Sunset, and Claire Trevor in The Man Without A Star…well, the list goes on.
My mind was forever linked to action-packed Westerns like Hondo with John Wayne and Shane with Alan Ladd, along with the co-star Jack Palance, the meanest gunslinger ever.

I miss the wide-open spaces of the grasslands, the breeze across the prairie, the clear blue sky, and the sound of a Frankie Lane song echoing in the background. I miss the first days of Technicolor, the names of my favorite cowboys splashed across the screen in red letters.

 Priceless Captures Photography by Amelia

Reader alert to all Bookemdanosports fans

 My blog has so many stories, it may be overwhelming to find the article you're looking for.

Here are some pointers below that'll help:

Use the search engine in the top left-hand corner of my profile page or insert a story on my blog roll on the right side to navigate through archives. Example: Plug in the MSBL World Series, Tucson MSBL, or Tucson Old Timers to bring up stories involving that specific group or organization, or plug the name of the individual (example: your name, Willie McCovey, Babe Ruth, etc.). The blog roll works the best. You can read a collection of posts on the subject or the name you inquire about.  If I have an article about you, the articles will appear, and you can read all I have written on the subject. My blog has surpassed 4,700 posts. You can also select a year, such as 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and then choose the month and the posts you want to read.

Remember: Bookemdanosports is like a diary, focusing on all the years that have flown by since I started the blog in Greer, Arizona, in 2009. Whether it's the teams at the University of Arizona: football, basketball, baseball, or the two decades I have followed the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, of which I'm a long-standing member, it's all there, chronicled: every month and every year, maybe not for the whole world to see, but the people in southern Arizona anyway; the diehard Arizona sports fans who live, everyday, cheering on their friends, teammates, players, coaches to win the inning, the fourth quarter or hit the game-winner with no time on the clock.

Sports will always be a big part of my life. To write about the local athlete, the oldtimer who still swings the bat, the budding star in high school who's heading for the pros. It's all here, in my little blog. Enjoy!

Good Hunting! Remember to hit the Home key when you're done; it'll take you back to my profile page.

Note: I recently added a few of my books that are no longer in print to my blog for free. (Example: Billy's Victory, February 2026, or Where Eagles Fly, June 2025) If not interested, just scroll through, and presto, a local or national sports story will pop up soon enough. 

Go, Wildcats, Go Diamondbacks, and to all the youngsters out there: keep playing the game you love. It'll always put a smile on your face.

Top-ranked Wildcats lose at home to Texas Tech

 Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Jaden Bradley unleashed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer in overtime, but it bounced off the rim, and Texas Tech escaped town with a 78-75 upset of top-ranked Arizona today at McKale.

Arizona drops its second game in a row and falls to 23-2, 10-2 in the Big 12 standings.

The Wildcats, already down a player due to Dwyane Aristode's illness, lost Koa Peat in the second half to a lower-body injury. Peat scored just two points in the first half.

Five players were forced to play 37 minutes or more, with Brayden Burries leading the Wildcats with 16 points, while Tobe Awaka came off the bench to score 16 points and grab 12 rebounds.

Moe Krivas also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Ivan Kaechenkov finished with 13 points, and Jaden Bradley added 11. The two Wildcats were a combined 8 for 28 from the field.

In the meantime, JT Toppin was unstoppable for Texas Tech with 31 points in 44 minutes.

Arizona shot just 39.3 percent from the field (24 of 61) and made 4 of 16 from beyond the arc. Texas Tech made 11 of 33 from long range.

Up next: BYU on Wednesday.

A misty morning

 

In my writings lately, I have had a partner in crime, so to speak, an extraordinary photographer, Amelia Price. She is the wife of my grandson, Daniel, and they live along the Western Slope of Colorado with my great-grandson, Fallon.

Her photos, like the one pictured on the left, have a way of igniting those constant thoughts that swirl around in that crazy brain of mine.

I can instantly land in the center of one of her photos, and I'm off and running.

 Priceless Captures Photography by Amelia

I envy Amelia, though. With one click, she can produce a masterpiece. As the saying goes: A picture paints a thousand words.

See what I mean.