Jefferson, Wildcats get it done

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is no longer the sixth man for the second-ranked Arizona Wildcats.

He is the man!

Jefferson, the new starting forward for the Wildcats, scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out three assists and blocked two shots as Arizona held on to beat Oregon 67-65 at McKale Center tonight.

Arizona fans, take a deep breath. It going to be like this for the next eight Pac-12 Conference games. Especially, when the 'Cats give away 16 points from the foul line like they did tonight. The Wildcats were a dismal 19 of 35 from the charity stripe and the Ducks were able to hang around and almost pulled off the upset.

Fortunately, Mr. Jefferson, the replacement for former starter Brandon Ashley, who is out for the remainder of the season with a foot injury, got the job done tonight with a little help down the stretch from guard Nick Johnson, who canned five of six free throws in the final minute of play to keep the Ducks at bay.

Johnson, despite going 5 for 16 from the field, was the top scorer for the Wildcats with 18 points -- eight of those points coming from the foul line.  Center Kaleb Tarczewski scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while forward Aaron Gordon netted six points and grabbed eight boards, but went 2 for 11 from the foul line.

The new sixth man for the Wildcats, Gabe York, chipped in eight points and added three assists. The new seventh man, Elliot Pitts, added a three pointer and grabbed three rebounds.

The Wildcats (22-1 overall, 9-1 in the Pac 12 Conference), are battered and bruised as T.J. McConnell, who contributed six points, three assists and three boards, left the court at the end of the game with a sore back and Gordon is gimpy as well.

Way to go, Wildcats. Way to hang in there. Now, let's all take a deep breath and prepare for the Oregon State Beavers.