Cat Tracks: Slow-starting Wildcats fall at UCLA

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 74-69 loss at UCLA on March 2.

The Good:

UCLA freshman Jordan Adams came into Saturday night with three straight 20-point performances. Senior Kevin Parrom held Adams in check, limiting the impressive frosh to just six points (1-of-5 from the field).

Grant Jerrett and Jordan Mayes gave Sean Miller productive minutes off the bench. The duo combined for 22 points, and Jerrett made 4-of-5 three-point attempts.

Kaleb Tarczewski was rarely targeted at the offensive end (four shots) despite his size advantage on the Wear brothers. But the freshman center did his part on the glass, picking up a game-high 10 boards.

The Bad:

The Wildcats had a chance to tie with under 24 seconds to go, but the game was not lost due to late-game execution but rather poor starts to begin both halves.

In the first half, UA made one field goal over the first 6:30 of the contest and fell behind 13-6. And after coming out of the locker room down 40-36, the Wildcats allowed UCLA to go on a game-changing 12-2 run that pushed the Bruins’ lead to 14 to begin the second half.

Senior forward Solomon Hill had arguably his worst game of the season. Hill had seven points and four assists, but recorded his third and fourth fouls early in the second half and was virtually ineffective down the stretch. He also had a season-high five turnovers.

Mark Lyons was impressive getting to the basket in the first half and scored 11 points. Over the final 20 minutes, however, the senior disappeared. Lyons finished with 13 points, four turnovers and just one assist.

Noted:

• With the loss, UA fell to 11-6 in Pac-12 play. California, Oregon and UCLA all have 12 wins heading into the final week of the regular season.

• UCLA is now 3-0 this season against teams ranked in the top 11.

• The Bruins also moved to 9-2 in games decided by five points or less in 2012-13.

Coming Up Next:

The Wildcats will next face rival ASU at the McKale Center on Saturday, March 9. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 2:30 p.m. MST.