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Arizona-Oregon State game blog: Cats move on to Pac-12 tournament final

Sean Miller

It's OK to exhale, Sean Miller. Arizona is in the final of the conference tournament for the second consecutive season. Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE.

Arizona never let up in the second half and subdued Oregon State 72-61 in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament.

Nick Johnson fueled the early second-half run, Kyle Fogg helped seal the deal with nine consecutive points late in the game, and Jesse Perry was very good throughout, coming up with his second double-double in two nights with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Wildcats were the much quicker, fresher team in the second half against Oregon State, which was playing its third game in three days. Arizona made 14 of 23 shots (60.9 percent) after halftime, while the Beavers managed to hit only 9 of 33 (27.3 percent).

Arizona (23-10) awaits the winner of the Cal-Colorado winner. An NCAA Tournament berth will be on the line for the Cats tomorrow afternoon.

* * *

Roberto Nelson with the steal, the fast-break layup plus the foul with 2:54 left. He makes the free throw to make it a 10-point game.

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Solomon Hill picks up his fourth personal foul with 5:30 to go, and then picks up a technical foul with some talking/arguing afterward, which counts as his fifth foul. So, he’s done.

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Arizona now trying to deliver the knockout punch, leading 58-46 with six minutes left. It seems as if every UA game is up for grabs at the final media timeout, but this might be the exception.

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Jesse Perry’s drive and dunk gives Arizona a 56-44 lead. Leading candidate for the tournament MVP?

* * *

Arizona quick hands really evident on defense, being pesky whenever Oregon State gets the ball inside. The Wildcats are much fresher. (No surprise that the Beaver’s best scorer right now is Roberto Nelson, who didn’t play much in the first two games and has more left in the tank.)

* * *

Arizona leads 47-39 with 10:58 to play. The Cats have done it with defense and driving in the second half, and you have to wonder if fatigue is now a factor for Oregon State, playing its third game in three days.

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Oregon State ended the first half on a 20-4 run. Arizona started the second half on a 20-3 run.

Makes sense, right?

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Stat courtesy of Mike Schmitz of the Arizona Daily Wildcat: Nick Johnson either scored or assisted on all 14 second-half points for UA.

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Arizona has the fast start it needed, thanks to an aggressive Nick Johnson (and a 3-pointers by Brendon Lavender and Kyle Fogg). UA on a 14-2 run to start the second half, and the Cats lead 41-36 with 15:19 to go in the game.

It’s just like last night for OSU, which couldn’t hold a halftime lead vs. Washington.

* * *

Nice start of the half for Nick Johnson, who drains a 3-pointer and flips a pass over his head in the lane to Solomon Hill for a layup. Staying aggressive he draws a foul, but makes only 1 of 2 free throws.

* * *

Second half starts. Arizona is going to have be in attack mode on offense.

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Oregon State ends the half on a 20-4 run to take a 34-27 lead at the break. Arizona having trouble with the highest-scoring team in the Pac-12 and doesn’t appear to have the same defensive intensity it had against UCLA last night.

Considering Arizona scored only four points after Solomon Hill’s 3-pointer at the 7:57 mark, it could be worse.

Remember, Oregon State was up 15 against Washington yesterday before squandering all of that lead and needing a late comeback to win.

* * *

Solomon Hill’s third foul comes with 41.6 seconds left in the half.

* * *

Kyle Fogg removes the lid with a 3-pointer with 1:24 to go in the half. UA’s previous basket came at the 7:57 mark.

* * *

Oregon State forward Devon Collier makes an over-the-head-with-english layup — and is fouled — to continues its huge run. He completes the three-point play to make it an 18-1 run.

And, on cue, Solomon Hill misses a two-handed dunk.

* * *

The Beavers make it a 13-0 run. Timeout for Sean Miller.

* * *

Tough sequence for Arizona. Solomon Hill, trying to bring the ball up court, loses control in the backcourt, and OSU’s Jared Cunningham picks it up, drives for the floater and is fouled. He makes the free throw for a 25-23 lead with 5:11 to go in the half.

The Beavers’ length is now really bothering UA on offense.

Oregon State is on an 11-0 run.

* * *

Updating the Solomon Hill 3-point shooting stats: Including 2 of 2 in the first half, he’s made 24 of 45 in past 16 games. Unreal.

The main thing is he’s making good decisions and not forcing anything up. And when he’s open, he’s calm and confident.

Arizona up 23-18 with 6:32 to play in the half.

* * *

Tweets former Wildcats guard David Bagga, regarding the absence of suspended guard Josiah Turner: “Arizona is by far better team without turner, moving the ball better and there’s more energy in the offensive flow”

* * *

Center Angelo Chol is in the game with Jesse Perry, so Perry gets to play his more natural power forward position, able to work the perimeter more. He gets a wide-open 3-pointer and buries it. Arizona up 15-9 with 11:16 to go in the half.

* * *

Oregon State shows its 1-3-1 zone, and Arizona finds Angelo Chol open down low for a dunk. After the Beavers miss on the other end, Brendon Lavender fires in a 3-pointer in transition for a 10-2 lead with 14:22 to go.

A fast start for Arizona? That’s something new.

* * *

While Arizona is in desperation mode to win tonight and continue in its attempt to get to the NCAA Tournament, last season’s star, Derrick Williams, had 17 first-half points for the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. the Lakers.

* * *

Oregon State scored on its first possession of the game, grabbing a long offensive rebound and working the ball down low for a basket. And that’s been it for OSU as Arizona leads 3-2 at the first media timeout, 15:59 to play in the half.

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There’s no way to hide Arizona’s height disadvantage, with 6-3 Nick Johnson guarding 6-10 Eric Moreland. Good luck to Moreland, though, in trying to stop Johnson on the other end.

* * *

Jordin Mayes misses an early 3-pointer, wide open. He’s 0 of 7 in the tourney.

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In addition to becoming the Arizona career leader in games played with 137, senior guard Kyle Fogg has started 117 games — tied for sixth with Salim Stoudamire.

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The Arizona Wildcats have won three in a row against Oregon State, but needs to make it four in a row tonight to advance to the Pac-12 tournament championship game.

The ninth-seeded Beavers weren’t supposed to be here, but they knocked off No. 8 Washington State in the opening round and then stunned top-seeded Washington on Thursday. This is Oregon State’s third game in three days, which could become a factor.

In any case, it’s a surprising but sizable challenge for the Wildcats. (The Cats are a three-point favorite).

Arizona showed its defensive teeth against UCLA on Thursday night in the quarterfinals after a horrible effort in the regular-season finale vs. ASU. A wake-up call? Perhaps. The Bruins shot 39 percent from the field and was just 2 of 12 from 3-point range.

One of the key defensive matchups will be Arizona senior Kyle Fogg vs. Oregon State’s Jared Cunningham — a battle of two All-Pac-12 Players.

More Fogg: This will be his 137th appearance at Arizona, breaking the school record for games played. He tied Jason Gardner on Thursday night.

Fogg is part of a trio of players — Solomon Hill and Jesse Perry being the others — that coach Sean Miller called the “heart and soul” of the team. No argument there after they combined for 54 of the team’s 66 points vs. UCLA.

Arizona will be looking for more scoring tonight from guards Nick Johnson, Jordin Mayes and Brendon Lavender. Lavender missed all four of his 3-point attempts vs. the Bruins, which just might mean the law of averages is on his side as he still is hitting 50 percent from beyond the arc for the season.

Oregon State will mix up its defenses, from man-to-man to various zones, including a 1-3-1. Lavender, especially, could be critical vs. the zone. He had 18 points in the first meeting.

Keep checking back here for in-game thoughts and updates …

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