CORVALLIS, Ore. – Maybe it was the Beavers’ zone defense. Or maybe it was just too much rest over the weekend.
Whatever the case, the Arizona Wildcats couldn’t hang on to the ball or make free throws in a 76-75 loss to Oregon State at Gill Coliseum on Sunday.
It was the third straight loss to the Beavers for the Wildcats, who dropped to 12-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play. OSU improved to 7-6 and 2-0.
It was also Arizona’s sixth loss over the past 13 seasons at Gill Coliseum, which has proven a more difficult place to play than Oregon’s celebrated McArthur Court over that period of time.
UA guard MoMo Jones tied the game at 70 entering the final minute but Joe Burton scored inside with 28 seconds left to give OSU a 72-70 lead. Jones then missed a 15-footer on UA’s next possession, forcing the Wildcats to foul.
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OSU’s Calvin Haynes hit two free throws with nine seconds left to put the Beavers up 74-70 and the OSU crowd on its feet. Kyle Fogg then made a quick layup and fouled Haynes with four seconds left, but Haynes made both free throws to seal the win at 76-72 for the Beavers and a final three-pointer by Derrick Williams with 0.1 seconds left was meaningless.
Jones led UA in scoring with 20 points but he had five turnovers and only one assist.
Haynes led the Beavers in scoring with 18 points while Jared Cunningham had 17 points and Joe Burton added 14 off the bench.
While the Wildcats had more success in the second half penetrating the OSU zone, turnovers and a lack of free-throw shooting hurt them. UA had 19 turnovers for a second straight game – tying their season-high for the third time – and had hit just 13 of 24 free throws.
Arizona also struggled from three-point range, hitting just 6 of 20 long-range shots.
OSU led most of the second half, though UA managed to tie it briefly on a three-pointer by Fogg with five minutes left and the game stayed close the rest of the way.
With four minutes left, Arizona’s troubles were evidence by point guards Jordin Mayes and Jones, who each had four turnovers and one assist at that point.
Free-throw trouble kept the Wildcats down in the early part of the second half. They hit only 1 for 5 from the line in the first half but the number quickly bloated to 3 for 12, and Williams, an 82-percent shooter from the line entering the game, made just 3 of his first 10 from the line after missing 1 of 2 with 11 minutes left.
At that point, OSU lead 45-42, though the Wildcats tied it at 51 with 7:51 to go by the time MoMo Jones drove inside for a layup.
With 11:14 left, UA had some not-so-pretty totals: 14 turnovers, 5-14 FT shooting, 4-15 three-point shooting. OSU led 43-41 at that point.
In the first half, the Wildcats coughed up 10 turnovers and made just 3 of 12 turnovers to fall into a tie at 28 at halftime.
With the Beavers set up in their 2-3 zone defense, the Wildcats committed 10 first-half turnover and made just 3 of 12 three-pointers over it.
UA led 23-22 with just under four minutes left and failed to expand its lead the rest of the way. A turnover in the final minute led to a basket from OSU’s Omari Johnson that tied the game at 28 with 20 seconds left.
The Beavers came out in their 2-3 zone early and immediately began tripping the Wildcats up with turnovers. Arizona had eight turnovers through the first eight minutes and scored only once on its first five possessions.
Still, the Wildcats stayed ahead by keeping OSU scoreless for the first three minutes.
Arizona took a 20-16 at third media timeout (7:18) and Derrick Williams returned from the bench after he picked up two early fouls.
Arizona had taken a 16-12 lead, with threes from Horne and Mayes plus layup from Lavender.
OSU played the first half in its 2-3 zone. The Wildcats struggled against it for much fo the half, with nine turnovers.
