Breakdown: UA wins nail-biter over UCLA

The Lowdown: It was the last home game for five seniors
in Tucson and it clearly impacted a few of them. On offense, the
Wildcats seemed content with the shooting the first shot given to
them – credit UCLA’s defense, but they were settling a lot.

Foul trouble eventually caught up with the Bruins however as both
the Wear Twins (David and Travis) and Josh Smith were battling that
issue all game. Overall the Bruins had 24 team fouls sending the
Wildcats to the line 32 times.

The seniors came on strong to close the game with Jesse Perry
making an impossible shot along the baseline followed by a big, big
three from Kyle Fogg to make it a two-possession game. After
exchanging free throws and turnovers down the stretch the
Wildcats came out on top on Senior Night 65-63.

What went right for Arizona? The ‘Cats took full
advantage of the free points. Throughout the game everyone on the
UA roster was aggressive and initiated contact, leading to a 23-32
showing from the line. Since getting shut out in the first half of last
their last game the Wildcats have gone 33-47 from the stripe in
their last 60 minutes of action.

When it was over? A three coming off a screen for Kyle
Fogg was the finishing touch on this game. He came off a screen
and caught a pass from Jesse Perry at the top of the key putting the
Wildcats up 63-59 with just over 40 seconds to go.

Who stepped up for Arizona? On a good day, Jesse Perry
is 6-7 and he battled a front-line consisting of two 6-10 skilled big
men and a 300+ pound force in the paint all game. Perry was an
efficient 4-9 from the field (8-9 from the line) with 8 rebounds in
33 minutes.

Stat of the Game: At this point it is getting redundant,
but Fogg has been incredible on the glass over the last four games.
Today he brought down another nine giving him 10, 9, 12, and 9 in
that span an average 10 rebounds per game.

They said it: “Yeah a little bit. I wanted to go out with a
win. In the timeout Coach Miller called the play if I was open. We
were able to get it up and I knocked down a three.” —Kyle Fogg
on whether or not he felt pressure when his number was called in
the huddle prior to his clutch three-pointer

What it means: As the announcers stated early in the
second half, the Wildcats are the “leaders in the clubhouse” right
now. The Wildcats now get to sit and watch everything play out for
over a week at 21-9 (12-5), third in the Pac-12.

What’s Next: Before heading into the Pac-12 Tournament
the Wildcats travel Tempe to face off against in-state rival Arizona
State (8-20, 4-12). In their previous meeting Arizona outclassed
State 68-51.

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