Nic Wise doesn’t want to go out a loser at Arizona. It’s not what he’s about. It’s not how he was advertised when he first came in.

Former UA coach Lute Olson always used to say that Wise was a winner. He knew how to win, being that he was one of the winningest players – ever – in Texas high school history.

On Thursday night, real late into the night, Wise looked like he was headed to being the captain of a losing team – until Arizona pulled another Houdini-act victory against the Bruins, 78-73, in McKale Center.

Arizona coach Sean Miller called it his team’s “best win of the season.’’

“It’s very gratifying for everyone in our locker room to have the wherewithal and fight to keep playing,’’ Miller said.

Arizona was down 50-36 with 15:53 left. Then something clicked. It came just two minutes after Wise’s first basket of the game. Four minutes later he hit another. And then another. He finished with 12 points, all coming in the second half.

Arizona was rolling. Wise said there is no pressure on him to perform. Thursday night he just happened to do it in the second half, in the waning moments.

“I know I wanted to come out fighting in the second half and didn’t want to go out like that,’’ said Wise, who finished with 12 points all in the second half. He was 0 for 3 from the floor in the first half. “I didn’t want to let my team down. I just wanted to provide a spark in the second half.’’

He did – finally. But there was no better spark than the 3-pointer he hit from the right corner to give UA a 68-64 lead with three minutes left. Then again, it could have also been the no-look, fabulous pass he had on an assist to MoMo Jones with 32 seconds left to give UA a 72-68 lead.

“Sweet’’ is how Jones described the pass. In an addition to it being a no-look pass, it might as well have been a no-explanation pass.

“I was asking them in the locker room how MoMo got so wide open,’’ Wise said. “MoMo said he set a screen for (Kyle) Fogg and Fogg said he set a screen for MoMo. Whatever happened, it worked. I just threw a bullet to MoMo.’’

It’s the type of play Miller expects from Wise these days.

“I really want to see him go out strong,’’ Miller said. “He’s been through a lot and that’s well documented. He’s been a great leader for this year’s team. We may have worn him down some. He’s been our anchor. I was excited to see us win the game for him because we have to come back here in eight or nine hours (he joked).’’

That Saturday morning game vs. USC will come against the coach who gave Wise his first legitimate shot, former UA interim Kevin O’Neill. What a day it will be. And Wise can end the regular season a winner at 16-14 overall.

Steve Rivera can be reached at Steve.Rivera95@gmail.com visit SteveRiveraventures.com

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