Bennedict Mathurin finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists to help No. 3 Arizona come back to beat visiting Oregon 84-81 on Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz.
The Wildcats (24-2, 14-1 Pac-12) won their eighth consecutive game and denied the visiting Ducks (17-10, 10-6) what would have been a valuable upset victory to bolster their fading NCAA Tournament hopes.
Quincy Guerrier, who finished with 21 points for Oregon, hit a 3-pointer to cut Arizona’s lead to 83-81 with 15 seconds left. The Ducks fouled Arizona’s Dalen Terry, who missed one of two free throws, giving Oregon a chance to tie with a 3-pointer.
But Will Richardson, who led the Ducks with 22 points, lost his balance after a steal attempt as he tried to drive into the paint and his last-ditch shot was blocked by Arizona center Christian Koloko as time expired.
Azuolas Tubelis totaled 14 points and seven rebounds while Terry finished with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds. Koloko finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Pelle Larsson scored 11 points off Arizona’s bench.
Kerr Kriisa hit a deep 3-pointer to put Arizona ahead 79-76 with 1:26 to go. The Wildcats would lead the rest of the way despite multiple opportunities for Oregon to change the outcome of a game that had seven ties and 16 lead changes.
Kriisa turned the ball over at midcourt on the Wildcats’ next possession as Jacob Young stole the ball and scored on a fast break layup to pull the Ducks within a point with 42.9 seconds left.
After Mathurin missed the second of two free throws, Oregon forward N’Faly Dante rebounded the ball and later drew a foul. But Dante, who finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds, missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
Trailing 81-78, Young (10 points) missed a layup with 19 seconds left and Larsson proceeded to hit a pair of free throws to put Arizona ahead by five.
–Field Level Media
