Solomon Hill had 16 points against Ohio State in his last collegiate game (TBS screen shot)

Arizona’s 73-70 loss to Ohio State in the Sweet 16 Thursday night was the Wildcats’ season in microcosm.

The UA started strong then encountered a difficult stretch but never doubted its chances. The Wildcats scratched back to respectability but came up short. They did not lose because of a lack of effort but because of a defensive breakdown that left LaQuinton Ross open just long enough to drain a three-pointer to put the Buckeyes ahead with 2.1 seconds left.

Arizona started the season 14-0, struggled through must of the Pac-12 season, but never fell apart. They were a basket away from extending their game against UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals and against the Buckeyes at the Staples Center. Defense was one of Sean Miller’s concerns for most of the season. One defensive lapse in which freshman Grant Jerrett drifted to a double-team of Aaron Craft allowed Ross a chance to square up for the game-winning three-pointer.

“The last shot of the game, we switched probably 400 handoffs and ball screens in the game,” Miller said. “We didn’t switch the last one. That’s the other part. Players make big plays. Teams make big plays. The pressure of the moment, the Sweet Sixteen, going to the Elite Eight, two guys go on one.

“Whether he made the shot or not, I think we all live with it when it’s challenged and we do what we’re supposed to do. But part of the reason he had such a great look at the end there was two guys went with the ball, when, in reality, we’ve switched every single handoff and ball screen from the opening tip to that one right there.”

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Mark Lyons will play in his third Sweet 16 game of his career (YouTube screen shot)

Mark Lyons and former Arizona guard Lamont “MoMo” Jones have similar styles on the basketball court — 6-foot-1 confident shooting guards from New York City who have played the point-guard position in college.

Both will have played against Ohio State defensive ace Aaron Craft at point guard in a span of a week.

Lyons should make it a goal that his similarities with the prolific scoring Jones end before the Wildcats and Buckeyes tip off Thursday night in Los Angeles. Craft locked down Jones — who provided locker-room material before the NCAA tournament matchup — to the tune of 3-for-14 shooting from the field (1 of 8 from three-point range) and only nine points in Iona’s 95-70 loss to the Buckeyes.

“I don’t feel like there’s anybody that can stop me,” Jones was quoted as saying by the New York Post before facing Craft. “That’s just how I go into every game. That’s no knock on what he does. I haven’t seen him. I don’t know the guy, just like he doesn’t know me.”

“I’m going to go out and play to the best of my ability. If he happens to be one of the best defensive players in the country, we’ll see. If not, we’ll see that, too.”

We saw Craft as one of the best defensive players in the country. Jones scored 13 points under his average.

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Kaleb Tarczewski is expected to rely on the leadership and experience of senior Mark Lyons in the NCAA tournament (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS — From Atlantic City, N.J., to Las Vegas in one year, Arizona senior guard Mark Lyons knows what it’s like to be dealt the losing hand on the basketball court.

Lyons was part of Xavier’s team last season that lost to St. Bonaventure in the championship game of the Atlantic 10 tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Lyons came up short with the Wildcats in a 66-64 loss to UCLA Friday night in the Pac-12 tournament semifinal game at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“I’ve been through this before,” said Lyons in a quiet Arizona locker room. “Last year at Xavier we lost to St. Bonaventure … It was a really close game, came down to one possession. Yeah, I’ve been here before. We just have to carry on.”

Forgive Lyons for his memory error — because of his transition from Xavier to Arizona and the difficult loss to the Bruins — but St. Bonaventure won 67-56 and never trailed against Xavier the entire second half.

The bottom line: Lyons knows the ebbs and flows of a season and how a team that loses in a conference tournament can make a run in the NCAA tournament. Xavier, which entered the 2012 NCAA tournament as a No. 10 seed, 21-12 overall, managed to advance to the Sweet 16 before losing to Baylor. The Musketeers advanced to the Sweet 16 twice with Lyons as a starting guard.

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