Green, Smith lead Wildcats to win over Pepperdine

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Arizona put together a 10-0 run midway through the second half and turned a 42-all score at halftime into a 69-57 lead over Pepperdine at the quarterfinals of the Wooden Legacy Tournament tonight in Anaheim.

It got a little dicey after that.

Arizona (7-0) survives 93-91 on a running shot from Nico Mannion with two seconds left on the clock. The 14th-ranked Wildcats ended up out scoring the Waves 51-49 in the second half.

Josh Green finished the game with 24 points, while Zeke Nnaji, Mannion and Dylan Smith finished with 16 points apiece. Chase Jeter also hit in double figures with 10. Green, Mannion and Smith were a combined 10 for 15 from 3-point land.

And the Wildcats needed all of those 3-pointers.

Arizona scrambled to a 86-84 lead on a Smith 3-pointer at the three-minute mark and then led 91-89 on a dunk from Nanji. Colbey Ross, who scored 20 points, hit a jumper in the paint to tie the game at 91-all.

Bottom line: Arizona gets the win and moves to 7-0.