Arizona trims Stanford 89-82

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


It wasn't pretty.

Fifty one fouls were called at Maples Pavilion tonight, but the Arizona Wildcats (17-2, 5-1) battled through it all and escaped town with an 89-82 win over the Stanford Cardinal.

Arizona was whistled for 23 fouls and Stanford, the home team, collected 28 fouls as the referees stopped play every chance they got and the result was a high-scoring affair as the Wildcats shot 55 percent from the field (30 of 54), while the Cardinal finished at 50 percent, canning 25 of 50 shots.

The Wildcats went to the foul line 36 times. They made 24. Stanford went to the charity line 31 times and made 24. Arizona went 5  for 12 from beyond the arc, while Stanford hit eight three-pointers in 20 attempts.

Five players finished in double figures for the Wildcats with Stanley Johnson leading the way with 19 points and seven rebounds. Brandon Ashley made the first six points of the game for Arizona and ended the night with 17 points and three rebounds. Gabe York chipped in 13 points, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 12 points to go along with four rebounds and T.J. McConnell finished with 10 points.

Arizona trailed 41-39 at the half, but regained the lead with 14 minutes remaining in the game and never looked back. With the Wildcats in foul trouble, coach Sean Miller inserted seldom used Matt Korcheck in the lineup and the senior center responded with four points and two rebounds.

The seventh-ranked Wildcats kept pace with Utah for first place in the Pac-12 Conference. Both teams sit atop the standings at  5-1. Arizona finishes off the two-game road trip on Saturday at Berkeley against California, while Utah (15-3, 5-1) takes on Washington in Salt Lake City on Sunday.