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Arizona-Cal game blog: Wildcats hang on in final seconds

Cal, in-bounding the ball from the backcourt, gets off a decent shot in the final two seconds. Jorge Gutierrez takes the pass, curls up court and puts up a 35-foot runner at the buzzer. It went too hard off the glass … and Arizona wins 73-71 at McKale Center.

Derrick Williams has a career-high 31 points and also pulls down 12 rebounds for the Cats, who made just 21 of 52 shots from the field.

Free-throw shooting was a plus, as Arizona made 25 of 32 attempts.

It might have been an ugly, closer-than-expected win … but it could have been a devastating loss.

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Scary moment for UA. MoMo Jones gets trapped along the sideline in the backcourt, but finds a way to split the double-team and pass ahead to Solomon Hill, who is fouled with 2.6 seconds to go.

Hill makes 1 of 2 free throws. Cal’s ball with 2.0 seconds left. Arizona up 73-71.

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Cal gives itself a chance with offensive rebounds, and Allen Crabbe gets fouled (questionably) by Derrick Williams on a dunk attempt. Crabbe makes both foul shots to bring the Bears within 72-71 with 11.5 seconds to play.

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This team loves to love its feet on defense. Kevin Parrom lunges at a jump shot and fouls Allen Crabbe with 33.5 seconds left on a 3-point attempt. He makes the first free throw, misses the second and makes the third. Arizona by one.

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Kyle Fogg his a 3-pointer but Cal comes back with an inside basket by post Harper Kamp, who gets fouled. He makes the free throw with 48.8 seconds left. UA leads 70-67.

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Still plenty to play, but Arizona is riding Derrick Williams (31 points and 13 rebounds) to a potential victory. Arizona leads 67-64 with 1:18 to play and has the ball. Is there still time to get D-Will on those mid-season All-American teams?

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Tweet of the night from basketball guru Ken Pomeroy: Arizona may have finally learned there is no rule preventing your best player from touching the ball on every possession.

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Cal post player Markhuri Sanders-Frison fouls out with 2:52. That should be a big relief to Arizona, which has had a hard time handling him inside. Arizona leads 64-62 after Derrick Williams missed two free throws.

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This looks like it is going down to the wire, and Sean Miller was talking about this kind of situation yesterday at his news conference.

“A lot of times,” he said, “the toughest team wins and the more disciplined defensive team wins.”

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Derrick Williams now sets his career high (previous, 28 vs. UNLV last season), as his two free throws with 4:55 left gives him 30 points and ties the game at 62.

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Derrick Williams ties his career-high with 28 points with 5:28 to play to tie the game at 60, but Cal responds with a long 2-pointer.

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See what happens when you get the ball to Derrick Williams in the middle of the zone? At worst, he’s going to get fouled. He’ll be shooting two free throws after the break. Cal leads 55-50 with 7:55 left.

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Markhuri Sanders-Frison has back-to-back baskets inside for Cal, and the Bears go up 55-48 with 8:55 to go.

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Fans have been into the game in recent minutes, standing up and making noise. Can any of them get a defensive stop when Arizona needs one?

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Derrick Williams is beginning to take over the game. He has 23 points and 10 rebounds with 12:44 to play, and he has scored 11 of the Cats’ 13 points this half.

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Jordin Mayes gets tripped and gets called for the foul. Yes, we know … Pac-10 refs.

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Cal leads 42-36 at the first media timeout, with 15:59 left. Arizona’s Jamelle Horne has four fouls. Derrick Williams has four points in the half; his teammates have none.

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Get the ball to Derrick Williams … get the ball to Derrick Williams … get the ball to Derrick Williams …

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Jamelle Horne starts the second half for Jesse Perry at power forward. But it’s Cal who comes out smoking after halftime, leading 39-32 — a 6-0 run — and forcing Sean Miller to call timeout just 1:32 into the half.

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Interesting: Sean Miller has Jordin Mayes at point guard instead of MoMo Jones as the Cats hold the ball for a late shot. That doesn’t work out too well. Kyle Fogg has to rush a shot in the lane — no good.

There’s enough time left for Cal to push the ball, and Jamelle Horne (of course) fouls Jorge Gutierrez with 0.7 seconds left. Gutierrez hits both free throws to give the Bears their only lead in the first 20 minutes.

Cal leads 33-32 at halftime.

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The good: Derrick Williams backs in, spins and splits defenders for a basket and the foul (he makes the free throw).

The bad: A couple of possessions earlier, MoMo Jones drove into the lane without a plan and turned it over, leading to a game-tying 3-pointer for Cal the other way.

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Jesse Perry picks up the hot potato underneath Arizona’s basket and scores to make it a 27-24 lead for the Cats. That’s why he’s in there; he hustles and can clean up the messes on the offensive end.

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Cal guard Jorge Gutierrez goes down hard again on a foul by Kevin Parrom. Gutierrez sits on the bench clutching at his back with his left hand.

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Arizona has cooled off from the field — Derrick Williams even misses a dunk — and Cal has closed within 25-24 with 4:45 left in the first half. The Cats are shooting 33.3 percent (9 of 27).

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Jorge Gutierrez, who was on the receiving end of a hard foul, gets booed as he shoots free throws. Arizona up 23-18 with 7:30 to go in the half.

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Our chatter at the press table: Cal high-energy guard Jorge Gutierrez is a guy you would love if he was on your team, but he is a guy you love to root against as an opponent.

Said Cal coach Mike Montgomery recently: “You gotta love Jorge. He’s the greatest. He’s a stubborn son of a gun. You attack him, he’s going to come back at you. That’s his nature. He takes things personally, is what he does. It’s not a bad thing.”

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Derrick Williams already with six free throw attempts in the first 10 minutes. Sean Miller is using him and Kyryl Natyazhko together right now. Miller says center Alex Jacobson, who has battled back problems, is 100 percent … but he’s the 11th guy in a 10-man rotation.

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Javier Morales of WildAboutAZCats tweets that Don MacLean on the Fox Sports Net telecast says, Derrick Williams one of the best drawing the foul “since I’ve been in this business.”

Arizona leads 17-9 with 11:38 to go in the first half.

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Halftime update from Stanford: The Arizona women are hanging with the powerful Cardinal, down 40-33 at halftime.

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A Derrick Williams’ 3-pointer for a 15-5 lead. He is a stunning 15 of 21 from behind the arc this season. His versatility on offense might be unmatched in the country for a big guy.

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Good energy in McKale. Who needs the Zona Zoo? With the students still on semester break, the general public has filled the area behind the north basket usually reserved for the students. Arizona leads 9-2 at the first media timeout.

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Derrick Williams had only 14 field goal attempts in the past three games, which isn’t ideal, but coach Sean Miller said he looks more at Williams’ combined shots from the field and the free throw line for an indication of how the offense is doing. In any case, it’s a lot more fun when Williams is scoring down low, as he does on the first possession of the game.

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Your Pac-10 scoreboard:

Stanford beats Arizona State 55-41. Washington pulls away from Oregon, 87-69.

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It’s the Arizona Wildcats’ Pac-10 home opener tonight against Cal — an early-season, late-night affair.

Cal is 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the Pac-10, having lost 82-68 at Cal over the weekend.

For Arizona, the questions after a 76-75 loss at Oregon State are rebounding effort and getting more productive play from the point guard position — more assists, fewer turnovers. The Wildcats’ free throw shooting against OSU was abysmal, but that figures to be just an aberration.

Cal is without guard Gary Franklin, who has decided to transfer this week. He started 11 of 13 games, averaging 8.2 points. Arizona coach Sean Miller expressed concern this week about the Bears’ post players — Harper Kamp and Markhuri Sanders-Frison. They combine for about 23 points and 14 rebounds per game.

Keep it here (and hit refresh often) for our in-game analysis and updates. Have your say in the comments section.

Earlier: Arizona’s Williams on mid-season list for Wooden Award, still has room to improve

Javier Morales’ game preview and prediction

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