Arizona finishes off its most complete game of the season, beating Washington State 85-61 at McKale Center.
Say this: When Arizona gets hot from behind the arc, it gets really hot.
Three-point shooting was one of the big storylines, especially after the Cats were a miserable 3 of 20 in their last game at Colorado. This time, UA was a sizzling 15 of 26 from 3-point range, making the fifth time this season it has hit at least a dozen shots from distance.
Kyle Fogg was 4 of 6, all of that coming in the first half. Brendon Lavender connected on 4 of 5 from 3-point distance. Even walk-on Max Wiepking contributed a trey in the final minute. His shot gave the Cats a season-high for 3-point makes.
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Brendon Lavender cleaning up again from behind the arc, making 4 of 5 3-point attempts as Arizona pours it on. The Cats are up 79-51 with 4:22 to go, having drained 13 of 22 3-pointers.
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Does Arizona have a reputation for being chippy? Two weeks ago, C Kyryl Natyazhko was ejected for coming off the bench during a skirmish against Oregon State. Last week, Solomon Hill was tossed for a flagrant foul when he threw an elbow into the back of a Utah player’s head. And, tonight, Josiah Turner picks up two technicals.
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Point guard Josiah Turner had to leave the court with 10:06 to play after picking up his second technical foul in a span of 66 seconds. The first was part of a double technical with WSU forward Brock Motum. The second came when Turner shoved Motum in the lane after a WSU basket.
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There might not be a lot to say the rest of the way in this one. Arizona has put all the pieces together against Washington State, including a 9-of-15 performance from 3-point range with 11:36 to go. Arizona leads 60-41.
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Actor Greg Kinnear, who attended Arizona, is in McKale Center. Athletic director Greg Byrne tweeted a photo with Kinnear on the upper concourse with Byrne, Sean Miller’s wife Amy and football coach Rich Rodriguez.
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Arizona hitting the gas pedal to start the second half; no second-half letdown here. Josiah Turner scores the first six points of the half for the Cats, and Jesse Perry follows with a big dunk on a fast break.
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By the way, Kyle Fogg had his 18 first-half points in only 12 minutes. His career high is 26 points — set against UCLA two seasons ago and matched against Arizona State last year.
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Tweets former UA guard David Bagga: “Arizona looking solid so far in this half, gotta build on this at halftime”
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An excellent first half for the Wildcats, who put it all together: 3-point shooting (7 of 12), ball control (only two turnovers) and its usual good defense (WSU shot 9 of 24, 37.5 percent).
Arizona leads 42-27.
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It’s all Foggy. Washington State can’t stop him. Not sure anybody has ever said that about Kyle Fogg … but, yeah, the Cougs can’t stop him. Mixing in drives and mid-range jumpers with four 3-pointers, Fogg has 18 first-half points.
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Solomon Hill with three fouls with 2:58 to go in the half. More Kevin Parrom!
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The Wildcats might be facing a short-handed WSU team in the second half. Cougars guard Faisal Aden went down with an apparent right leg injury with 4:02 to go in the first half. After being attended to for a couple of minutes, he was helped off the court and taken to the locker room.
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Arizona leads 27-20 with 6:27 to go and things could be much better for Arizona … if they, you know, could make a layup.
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Officials hit Washington State’s bench with a technical with 7:07 to go. Brendon Lavender makes 1 of 2 free throws for the Cats.
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Another 3-pointer from Kyle Fogg gives him 11 points … but he does have two fouls with 7:55 to go in the half. That could take away his aggressiveness against Faisal Aden, if Sean Miller lets him play more before the break. The Cats are playing well, with good energy and only one turnover so far as they lead 23-18.
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Tweets former UA center A.J. Bramlett: “Kevin Parrom = Inner Strength + Toughness.”
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For Kevin Parrom, it’s all about shot selection. That’s a part of his game that coach Sean Miller hasn’t been happy about. Parrom’s first 3-point attempt of the night seemed rushed and was well of the mark. He got a good look at another one … and buried it. See hoe that works?
Arizona is up 16-14 with 10:43 before half.
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Four subs come in at the 14:14 timeout: Mayes, Parrom, Lavender and Chol.
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Kyle Fogg has hit three shots early — including two 3-pointers — always a good sign for the streaky shooter. (He did miss his third 3-point attempt, though). Fogg also has the defensive assignment on WSU’s Faisal Aden, the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week. That will be a key matchup to watch.
Arizona leads 11-10 with 14:14 to go in the half.
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Same starting lineup for the Cats: Turner, Johnson, Fogg, Hill and Perry.
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Arizona is back home tonight, taking on Washington State, which has the hottest player in the league.
Senior guard Faisal Aden scored 57 points as the Cougars swept a homestand last week against Cal and Stanford — impressive — earning a national player of the week award. He usually comes off the bench, but he might start tonight.
Probably doesn’t matter. He’s going to play around 30 minutes anyway. He’s adept at getting into the lane and hitting a mid-range jumpers or getting fouled. He was 13 of 13 from the line against Stanford and is at 89.4 percent for the season.
This looks like a defensive assignment for Kyle Fogg.
The Cougars also have an experienced point guard in junior Reggie Moore (8.9 points and 5.5 assists per game) and a production 6-10 big man in Brock Motum. He is averaging 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds.
“Brock Motum might be the most improved player in our conference,” UA coach Sean Miller said this week.
For the Cats, the player focus is on junior forward Kevin Parrom and freshman point guard Josiah Turner.
Parrom will have an expanded role after a solid pair of games last week, while Miller said Turner has earned the right to have more late-game responsibilities as a go-to guy. Chances of Arizona being a better team in March are tied to the continued improvement of both players.
Check back during the game for more updates and analysis from McKale, with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Arizona. …