After he made his fourth straight three-pointer but before he sank one more, Brendon Lavender ran down the McKale Center floor, arms to his side, receiving high-fives from Arizona Wildcats players waiting on the sideline to enter the game.
After he made No. 5, freshman Nick Johnson, who had checked into the game after waiting at the table, played defense and shook his head in amazement, smiling.
Lavender was red hot.
He made five in a row before missing and left the game after only 11 minutes with a career-high 18 points.
If it wasn't the best game of his career, it was the most explosive.
"My job is to come in the game and shoot the ball, so that's what I did," the senior from Mesa Mountain View High School said. "My teammates were looking for me. I'm glad they found me at the right time.
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"It felt good."
Entering Thursday's 100-60 victory, Lavender had made nine three-pointers this season. He went 6 for 8 on threes against the Bulldogs, both marks career bests.
"Off the bench, to score 18 points in 11 minutes was an amazing accomplishment," UA coach Sean Miller said. "I think it's a sign that one of the things we need to have in place is contribution from the bench."
Lavender is probably the UA's best shooter in practice, Miller said, edging Kyle Fogg and Kevin Parrom.
Lavender's three-point prowess increases when he can catch a pass or pull up his dribble on a fast break, which jibed nicely with the Wildcats' effort to play with a more frenetic pace Thursday.
The UA took advantage of the Bulldogs' soft zone defense, making 13 of 23 three-point attempts, its best percentage all season.
"The way they shot the three tonight makes them very difficult to defend," Bryant coach Tim O'Shea said. "We didn't think we matched up with their talent very well man-to-man, so we tried zone.
"They're a really talented team. With their skill level, and the way they shoot the ball, they're going to do really well in the Pac-12 this year."
Lavender made 1 of 2 three-point attempts in the first half.
In the second, he missed two-straight jumpers before drilling a three-pointer off a Josiah Turner pass to put Arizona ahead by 31 with about 12 minutes to play.
He scored the next basket, another three, off another Turner pass.
After a Parrom free throw, Lavender made another three, this time from Parrom's pass, and then on a fast-break pass from Turner.
Miller subbed out three players, but kept Lavender, who made the team's next three, making the lead 85-42.
With 7:14 left, Lavender's streak ended when he missed a three-point attempt.
Miller took Lavender out two minutes later, to thunderous applause and a bear hug from assistant Book Richardson.
In about seven minutes, he made five straight three-pointers.
"That's my job. That's all I do," Lavender said. "In practice, that's what I do, and it's carried over into the game."
Lavender's teammates were just as thrilled as he was. The guard suspects it's "because of how hard I work in practice." Miller called Lavender a "great teammate and a great kid" whose deserved the attention.
"It's always good to see everyone happy for you," Lavender said.
It came at a good time, too.
Through 13 games, Lavender is averaging 9.6 minutes, the fewest of any member of the Wildcats' 10-man rotation and his lowest mark since his freshman year.
Before Thursday's outburst, he had made - and tried - fewer field goals than even Angelo Chol.
Since scoring 16 points against Colorado in Hawaii in 2009, he had reached double figures only three times before Thursday.
"It's been a long time," he said, "but I'm happy."
