Arizona edges Utah in overtime

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Arizona clawed its way to a 67-63 overtime win in Salt Lake City tonight over the Utah Utes.

They won without Aaron Gordon in the second half and in the overtime period. Gordon fouled out and left the court with just under nine minutes left in regulation. It seemed like every time he stepped on the court in the first half and for those precious moments he graced the court during the first 11 minutes in the second half, the referee's whistle would blow, signaling the electronic scoreboard at the Jon H. Huntsman Center to tack on another foul on the Wildcats' No. 11.

Without Gordon, the Wildcats were out rebounded 37-31, but they still found a way to beat Utah -- a team which owned a 16-1 record at home this season. Make that 16-2!

Nick Johnson and Gabe York scored 15 points apiece, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson chipped in 13 points off the bench tonight as Arizona improves to 24-2 overall and 11-2 in the Pac-12 Conference. With the win, the Wildcats hold on to their one game lead in the conference over the UCLA Bruins, who beat California at Berkeley tonight.

York scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half as Arizona left the court at intermission with a 35-26 lead. Utah battled back. The Utes needed to outscore the Wildcats by nine in the second half and that's exactly what they did as the buzzer sounded, ending play in regulation with the score tied at 56-56.

In the overtime period, it was Johnson with four key free throws down the stretch to ice the win for the Wildcats, while Utah struggled from the line in the final moments.

Kaleb Tarczewski upped his game with Gordon on the bench, finishing with eight points and 10 rebounds, while T.J. McConnell chipped in 11 points and dished out six assists.

On a night when top-ranked Syracuse goes down, losing its first game of the year to Boston College, and a hand full of other top-20 teams struggle to win, the Wildcats come away with a hard-fought road win.

Way to go, Wildcats.  Now go get the Buffaloes!