Arizona beats New Mexico State 83-76, a good road win for the Wildcats — perhaps even better than you think. UA improves to 5-2, ending a two-game skid.
Nick Johnson, in his first career start, scored a career-high 19 points. Fellow freshman guard Josiah Turner also set a career best with 12 points.
Jesse Perry had his fifth double-double of the season, with 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Tweeted ESPN’s Andy Katz: “Had Arizona on upset alert. But Wildcats pick up a much-needed win at New Mexico State. Good way to right itself.”
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A couple of breaks for Arizona down the stretch. New Mexico State fouls Kyle Fogg with one second left on the shot clock, and when he misses the front end of a one-and-one, the ball gets tipped back to him.
Jordin Mayes get the ball, is fouled and makes two free throws with 21.6 seconds left for an 81-76 lead with 21.6 seconds left.
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Christian Kabongo makes a steal for NMSU and gets fouled by Josiah Turner on the fast break. That’s five fouls for Turner with 1:04 to go. He finishes with a career-high 12 points.
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Not over yet. NMSU’s Christian Kabongo completes a three-point play with 1:17 left to make it 79-74, Arizona.
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Josiah Turner having a nice second half, giving UA a 78-69 lead with two free throws with 4:02 left. He then steals a pass and goes in for a layup, when New Mexico State commits an intentional foul.
Turner, who has 11 points, will be going to the line after the final media timeout of the game.
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Arizona is helping Wendell McKines look like Reeves Nelson.
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Another highlight from Nick Johnson as he drive and dips into the lane and scoops in a layup. Still some work to do, but Arizona leads 72-64 with 5:51 left.
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Josiah Turner also doing some nice things tonight, looking more in control as he drives, just finishing a basket after a nice spin move. The freshman backcourt of Turner and Nick Johnson is beginning to grow up together tonight.
Arizona leads 66-60 with 7:51 to play. The Cats have made 9 of 20 3-pointers.
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Nick Johnson throws down the dunk, is fouled and makes the free throw to give him a career-high 15 … and he follows up with another slam on the next possession. So, that’s a career-high 17 points.
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Wendell McKines has 21 points for NMSU with the game tied at 56 with 11:40 to play. The Aggies’ aggressive play and attacking style is, as usual, giving NMSU a big edge at the free throw line. The Aggies have shot 16 free throws, Arizona only five.
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It will be hard, if not impossible, to get freshman Nick Johnson out of the starting lineup for the rest of his career. He has 12 points tonight as Arizona trails 53-51 with 15:26 to play. (Never mind that the AggieVision announcers keep saying Johnson came off the bench tonight.)
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I’d feel better about Arizona’s chances this season if it had someone like New Mexico State’s Wendell McKines.
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A slow start to the first half, a slow start to the second half. NMSU begins with a 6-0 after the break to take a 46-44 lead, prompting coach Sean Miller to call a timeout.
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Nick Johnson had a team-high nine points for Arizona in the first half … and away we go in the second half.
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Not quite a Jamelle Horne situation, but Kevin Parrom picks up a foul diving for a loose ball with less than a second left in the first half. Hernst Laroche ended up missing the front end of a one-and-one, and the Cats lead New Mexico State 44-40 at the half.
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Mark this down: Solomon Hill has three fouls with 2:48 to go in the first half.
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New Mexico State looks like it should be a good defensive team, especially with the way it likes to press, but the Aggies are prone to lapses in the halfcourt and are not known for their discipline. Bottom line: They are giving the Cats lots of good looks.
Arizona has made 5 of 12 3-pointers en route to a 38-34 lead with 2:48 left in the first half.
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Kyryl Natyazhko picks up two fouls within 92 seconds … but he does hit another short-range jumper.
An 11-0 run helped the Cats rally to a 27-19 lead before the Aggies answered. Arizona leads 29-25 with about seven minutes left in the half.
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There’s Kyryl. He enters with 9:33 to go and promptly hits a 15-footer from the baseline. Kudos to the New Mexico State announcer for pronouncing “Natyazhko” correctly the first time.
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New Mexico State has an athletic team that likes to press, but the Aggies don’t have the sharp-shooting guards it had a couple of years ago. Arizona has the advantage in this area, and back-to-back 3-pointers by Solomon Hill and Nick Johnson give the Cats their first lead at 22-19 with 10:02 left in the half.
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When will there be a Kyryl Natyazhko sighting?
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Angelo Chol is the first big man off the bench, with 16:14 to go in the half. The Cats rallied to tie the game at 12 at the first media timeout.
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Another slow start for Arizona, which gets down 10-2 at the 18:11 mark of the first half. NMSU’s Wendell McKines, certainly one of the top players in the WAC, has eight points, including two 3-pointers.
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New Mexico State shoots its first free throws with only 31 seconds gone. Get used to it. The Aggies have made more free throws (170) than 326 Division I teams have attempted.
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Arizona coach Sean Miller followed through on his promise to shake up the starting lineup, going small at New Mexico State by taking out center Kyryl Natyazhko and inserting freshman guard Nick Johnson.
Jesse Perry moves up from power forward to center, with Solomon Hill sliding up to the power forward spot. The three starting guards are Jordin Mayes, Nick Johnson and Kyle Fogg, who is playing the small forward position.
PREGAME
The Arizona Wildcats, coming off two losses, will try to regain their confidence tonight at New Mexico State.
“I am concerned with confidence,” coach Sean Miller said in an interview Sunday.
“Winning and losing can really flip it. … Losing to Mississippi State in New York City, I don’t think there is any shame in that. But it was a very winnable game.
Coming back here, I was very disappointed — and anyone who is an Arizona fan should be disappointed in a team that gets off to a start at home, losing 21-4 (to San Diego State). It was a game we worked hard to prepare for.
There are a lot of things San Diego State deserves credit for, but part of our slow start was a lack of confidence, no question about it.”
The Aztecs, one of the favorites in the WAC, have a talented frontcourt with power forward Wendell McKines and center Hamidu Rahman, as well as a veteran point guard in Hernst Laroche.
While Miller hinted at changes at center, one could also be coming at point guard. Jordin Mayes has started the past five games, but has only three assists in six games. Miller called that a “concern.”