Arizona wears down Bears in Pac 12 tourney opener

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


With three minutes to go in the game, the California Bears had enough. The Bears looked up at the clock. California had fought hard and battled for 37 minutes, yet the Bears trailed, 66-49.

Three minutes later, the final score at the MGM Grand registered 73-51 and once again the Arizona Wildcats had worn out an opponent The result: a 22-point quarterfinal win at the Pac-12 Conference Basketball Tournament.

Four Wildcat starters scored in double figures with freshman guard Stanley Johnson leading the charge with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson jumped and danced his way around the court and finished with 10 points and six boards, plus a hand full of offensive plays and defensive gems which will find their way to the ESPN highlight reels tonight.

Brandon Ashley contributed 15 points and seven rebounds and T.J. McConnell did his thing with 13 points, three rebounds and six assists as the Wildcats move on to the semi finals on Friday against either UCLA or USC.

Fifth-ranked Arizona (29-3) shot 47 percent from the field (26 of 55), while limiting California to 34 percent (21 of 61).

Way to go, Wildcats.