Cat Tracks: Wildcats suffer first home loss of season to UCLA
Jan 25, 2013, 4:46 AM | Updated: 5:13 pm
Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won’t tell you everything that happened in a basketball game. So, we give you ‘Cat Tracks’, providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from Arizona’s January 24 loss to UCLA. UCLA 84, Arizona 73.
The Good:
UA’s backcourt proved to be the team’s lone bright spot in defeat.
Nick Johnson scored a team-high 23 points (9-of-19 from the field) for Arizona, while Mark Lyons added 16.
Arizona went on a 10-0 run midway through the second half and cut the deficit to four points, but they couldn’t pull off another late-game comeback.
The Bad:
The Wildcats got off to a sluggish start, missing 12 of their first 13 shots of the game. UCLA jumped out to a 16-point lead early in the first quarter.
Despite playing against a Bruins team that was short-handed, the ‘Cats couldn’t recover from their early shooting woes. Arizona shot a paltry 38.4 percent from the field and got outrebounded by UCLA 45-44.
In 33 minutes of play, Mark Lyons failed to even record a single assist. It’s the second time this season that Lyons has gone assist-less in a game.
Noted:
• The Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season at McKale Center. They haven’t lost at home since they got beat by Bucknell in the first round of last year’s NIT tournament.
• Arizona dropped to 16-2 overall and 4-2 in Pac-12 play this year.
• The ‘Cats came into Thursday night’s contest shooting 38.2 from three-point range but went cold against the Bruins, making just five of their 24 attempts from downtown.
Coming Up Next:
The Wildcats will host the USC Trojans on Saturday, January 26 at 5:00 p.m. MST.
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