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Arizona-Colorado game blog: Last-second shot off the mark for the Cats

Solomon Hill

Solomon Hill battles inside in the first half. Photo by Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona has the last possession of the game with a chance to win. The Cats work the ball around with Kyle Fogg eventually driving the middle and kicking to Kevin Parrom on the right side.

Parrom launches a 3-pointer with about two seconds left … and draws nothing but air.

Would have been a nice time to have a go-to scorer and a clear-out situation.

Colorado wins 64-63. Box score.

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Kyle Fogg misses the front end of a one-and-one with 1:01 left. Free throw shooting has been solid for the Cats tonight, but that miss hurts.

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Carlon Brown’s 3-pointer gives CU a 64-63 lead with 1:14 to go.

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By the way … Washington State, which plays at Arizona on Thursday night, finished off a home sweep of the Bay Area schools today. Impressive.

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Kyle Fogg makes a 3-pointer to end a streak of 14 misses for the Wildcats. After CU misses, Solomon Hill converts inside, muscling to the hoop after a nifty dish into the lane by Kevin Parrom.

Hill is going to the line for one shot with 2:51 left, the score tied at 61. (He misses.)

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With the shots not falling, Arizona has reached a critical juncture of the game, trailing 60-56 with 3:52 to go — and the Buffs going to the line shooting one.

The Cats are a miserable 4 of 25 from the field in the second half.

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Still my favorite sight in UA hoops: Kevin Parrom going coast-to-coast on the fast break.

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Can’t point to free throw shooting being a problem. Arizona is getting to the line plenty in this fast-paced game (24 times with 7:50 to go) and is making 75 percent. Colorado has been to the line about the same number of times.

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Arizona starts the second half by making only 4 of 17 shots from the field. Jesse Perry continues to do warrior-like work inside and is helping to keep the game close. Solomon Hill had seven quick points in the game, but has only one since as Colorado leads 51-49 with 10:30 to go. He’s prone to those kind of scoring swings.

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Foul trouble? Nick Johnson and Kyle Fogg each have three fouls with 13:41 to go.

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Arizona missed its first nine shots of the second half, but not much damage done. Kevin Parrom gets the Cats back on the board with a turnaround one-hander off the glass to give UA a 41-40 lead.

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Shots not falling early in the second half for Arizona, which goes scoreless through 2:57, when Sean Miller calls a timeout. The Buffs have tied the game at 39.

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Colorado forward Andre Roberson, who averages a double-double, did not score in the first half and did not have a rebound, if GameTracker is to be believed.

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Undersized posts Jesse Perry and Solomon Perry, rarely having to battle a giant inside at Colorado, put their athleticism to good use in the first half, converting 7 of 10 shots. The rest of the Wildcats were only 5 of 16 from the field.

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Arizona fails to convert on the final possession of the half, but the Wildcats still lead 39-35 in a thrilling first half. The Cats’ previous season high for a first half in a Pac-12 game was 34 points (vs. Arizona State).

Arizona’s average point total in six conference games was 29.5 for the first half.

So, that says something about the pace of this game.

“This is a really good game and we’re playing well,” coach Sean Miller said in the halftime interview with Corey Williams.

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Josiah Turner … getting better every game now.

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Whoa. Jesse Perry rocks a one-handed slam at the end of a fast-break with 2:39 left. The Cats so love to play at this pace.

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Remember early in the year when freshman Josiah Turner would drive the lane … and the miss the shot. That went on for a while as he learned that this isn’t AAU ball anymore. He’s now picking his spots better and finishing better, as he did with a hoop and a foul with 3:59 to go in the half.

He’ll be going to line after a timeout, with the game tied at 32. (He makes it, so UA up one.)

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Solomon Hill getting some extended rest because of two fouls.

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The Wildcats had 22 points at half last week vs. Oregon. They have 22 with 8:29 to go in half at Colorado. The pace of this game is the way Pac-12 hoops should be.

Arizona leads 22-21 with 7:57 before the break.

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Can’t argue with this: Arizona’s first turnover comes with 10:57 to play. Problem is, the second one comes about 20 seconds later and results in a fast-break basket.

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Isn’t this the way Pac-12 basketball is supposed to look: Fast-paced, skilled players on offense, 3-pointers ripping the nets. The conference has been down in the past few seasons, not only because of massive attrition to the NBA, but because too many coaches have taken to playing a boring brand of basketball.

Perhaps Arizona-Colorado can become a highlight.

The Cats lead 20-16 with 11:49 to play in the first half, with Josiah Turner going to the line, shooting one.

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Sean Miller substituted three players before the first media timeout at Colorado, which said something about the quick pace of the game and, perhaps, his concern about altitude. (Of course, he sat Solomon Hill for other reasons.)

Arizona leads 11-6.

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Coach Sean Miller yanked Solomon Hill from the court with less than two minutes gone to discuss defensive assignments. He comes back in before the first media timeout and continues to be active inside offensively.

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Solomon Hill active early, grabbing a miss from Jesse Perry and putting in the rebound while getting fouled. He misses the free throw, though, which has been a concern of coach Sean Miller lately.

Arizona entered the game making only 67.7 percent from the line in conference games, bringing down the season average to 70.8. This is probably one of those games in which the Cats can’t afford to give away any free points.

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Colorado entered the game as a two-point betting favorite.

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Key matchup: Arizona’s Solomon Hill vs. Colorado’s Andre Roberson, who averages a double-double. Roberson isn’t beastly physically — 6-7, 210 — but he’s a very active frontcourt player, much like Hill. Check out his dunk from Thursday night below.

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The Arizona Wildcats take on Colorado in a key Pac-12 game between two of the best defensive teams in the conference. The Buffs have a sold-out crowd at the Coors Event Center (11,064) for the first time this season, and the fans are pumped to see Arizona in Boulder for the first time since Dec. 3, 1973, when the Cats won 91-76.

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