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Arizona-Ball State game blog: Parrom plays, Wildcats win

Arizona pulls away late and does it with defense to win 73-63 over Ball State. No doubt, Kevin Parrom’s return provided energy and toughness — which was to be expected.

Parrom played 18 minutes — remember, he was considered a long-shot to even play today — and finished with six points, four rebounds and two assists. He also took a charge.

The home winning streak reaches 22 games.

Freshman PG Josiah Turner did not play.

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Sean Miller gives Kevin Parrom a huge hug as the junior exits the game with 32.7 seconds left. Nice moment.

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Solomon Hill makes two free throws with 50.9 seconds left to make it 66-58.

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Ball State gets called for an intentional foul against Kyle Fogg with 57.4 seconds to go. Strange call. Fogg was just up top with the ball. That’s not usually the way the officials call that.

Anyway, Arizona will take it … and Fogg makes two free throws, with Arizona retaining the ball.

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Ball State goes 5:50 without scoring but Jesse Berry converts a three-point play with 1:07 to go to make it 62-58, Arizona.

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That’s five big points from Solomon Hill — two free throws and a 3-pointer for a 61-55 lead with 2:16 to go.

Jesse Perry’s defense vs. Jarrod Jones has been key down the stretch, too.

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Some serious defense — or bad offense — being played as the score is still 56-55 for Arizona at the final media timeout with 3:52 to go.

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Nick Johnson’s two free throws with 6:07 left gives Arizona a 56-55 lead, the team’s first lead since early in the game.

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Arizona having a hard time containing Ball State big man Jarrod Jones, who has 23 points on 10 of 12 shooting. He’s really good, and the talk of him being an NBA player is not overstated.

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With 7:57 to go in the game, the Ooh-Aah Man makes his season debut.

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Kevin Parrom’s 3-pointer with 12:40 to go brings Arizona within 47-46 … and McKale is rockin’.

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There’s been a Sidiki Johnson sighting. The freshman big man enters with 13:33 to play and picks up on offensive rebound after Nick Johnson couldn’t convert the alley-oop from Kyle Fogg. Sidiki Johnson went to the hoop, got fouled, and made 1 of 2 free throws.

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Kevin Parrom is getting more than courtesy minutes in his return from a Sept. 24 shooting. He is playing in the second half, and his contributions include taking a charge with 14:18 to play.

Arizona now with 44-40 with under 14 minutes to go, and the Cats are playing a smaller, tough unit with Jesse Perry at center and Solomon Hill at power forward.

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Tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com: This AZ team is not deserving of being in the Top 25 – today. With a healthy Parrom, though, and if Josiah Turner matures, will be Top 25.

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Still no Josiah Turner. Looks like he won’t play. I’m sure Sean Miller will address this after the game.

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Angelo Chol started the second half in favor of Kyryl Natyazhko, but Chol missed out on a couple of rebounds he could have had. Natyazhko comes in after spending only a couple of minutes on the bench.

Kyle Fogg hits a 3-pointer to bring Arizona within 44-37 with 16:27 to play. He has 15 points and has been playing hard all game.

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Ball State took 19 3-point shots in the first half. Arizona took only 21 shots overall because of the 10 turnovers.

The Cardinals made seven 3-pointers.

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The half ends badly for Arizona as Kyryl Natyazhko misses two free throws, and then Ball State sets up for the final shot of the half. Here is where the missed free throws became even more costly. Freshman Angelo Chol was ready to come in for defense, but Natyazhko had to stay on the floor because there was no stoppage of play … and Ball State big man Jarrod Jones blew past him for a dunk and a 38-29 lead at halftime.

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One of the reasons Arizona has faced a 11-point deficit in the first half is sloppy play on offense. The Cats had 10 turnovers within the first 15 minutes. Ball State has one as it leads 36-29 with 1:12 to go in the half.

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FYI: The internet is crawling at McKale Center, so in-game updates might be scarce.

There’s no word here on if Josiah Turner has been suspended, or if he’s not playing because of “coach’s decision.” Arizona already has eight turnovers and trails Ball State 25-15 with 6:31 to go in the half.

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Junior wing Kevin Parrom made his season debut Sunday afternoon, entering with 15:24 to play in the first half against Ball State. Parrom, who suffered lower right leg injuries in a Sept. 24 shooting, received a standing ovation at McKale Center when he was introduced.

His first action came on defense, and Parrom had to chase guard Jesse Berry around some screens thruogh the lane before Berry caught a pass and lanched a 3-pointer that banked in.

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Jordin Mayes starts at point guard for the second consecutive game, but only about three minutes went by before coach Sean Miller tried a new backcourt combination, inserting freshman Nick Johnson to play alongside shooting guard Kyle Fogg.

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Arizona takes on Ball State, which will be playing its season opener. The Wildcats are 2-0, having defeated Valparaiso and Duquesne, and coach Sean Miller said this will be a tougher test.

The Cardinals won 19 games last season and are picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference. They have a possible NBA-caliber big man in Jarrod Jones, averaging 14.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

Ball State has a trio of very good 3-point shooters — Randy Davis (36.1 percent for his career), Jauwan Scaife (38.6 percent) and Jesse Berry, who sure isn’t afraid to launch. He hit just 32.9 percent last season, but took 146 attempts and can heat up in a hurry.

Miller calls this an “organized” opponent, one that will be patient and test Arizona’s defense.

For Arizona, perhaps the most intriguing question is whether junior Kevin Parrom will make his season debut after suffering leg injuries in a Sept. 24 shooting. He returned to full-time practice on Friday.

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