That’s a wrap on the season.
Arizona, a No. 1 seed in the NIT, loses at home to Bucknell 65-54.
Bryson Johnson hit a huge 3-point from up top for Bucknell with just under a minute to play to give the Bison a seven-point lead,.
Be back later for postgame — post-season — reaction…
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A turnover by Kyle Fogg with 1:20 left could prove costly. UA doesn’t get off a shot as it trails 58-54. Bucknell has the ball with 1:12 to go.
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Arizona had made 10 free throws in a row before Jesse Perry missed one with 2:59 left. He made his second attempt, though, to bring UA within 56-54.
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Mike Muscala fouls out with 2:59 to go as Jesse Perry takes him to the hoop.
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Coming right down to it. Bucknell leads 56-51 with 3:34 left, but Jesse Perry will be going to the line after the final media timeout. FYI: The Bison are a superb free-throw shooting team, hitting 77 percent.
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Nick Johnson hits a 3-pointer for his first points of the game to make it 52-45, and then he makes both ends of a one-and-one with 5:32 to go. Cats trail by just five.
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Arizona is getting into dangerous territory, trailing 47-40 with 7:25 to go. The Cats haven’t gotten untracked on offense against Bucknell, which had one of the best defenses in the Patriot League.
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Jesse Perry picks up his fourth foul with 8:11 to play. Not unexpectedly, Bucknell center Mike Muscala having a big game with 18 points and eight rebounds.
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Bucknell still scrapping with Arizona .. or is it the other way around? The Bison lead 39-38 with 11:10 to go. Just think: In an 11-day span, Arizona could lost at Arizona State and at home to Bucknell.
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Angelo Chol gives Arizona its first lead of the game, 33-32, with 16:59 to play, but Bucknell’s Mike Muscala comes back with a three-point play. Crowd has been standing the entire second half … and it now sits down at the first media timeout.
Solomon Hill’s 3-pointer has given UA a 36-25 lead.
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Bucknell has missed its five five shots of the second half, and Arizona has closed to 32-31.
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Good news: Arizona ends the half on a 12-5 run. Bad news: The Cats still trail at halftime 32-26.
Being relegated to the NIT is one thing. Losing in the first round as a No. 1 seed would be another.
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Arizona can’t complain about a lack of support. The crowd’s energy after Kyle Fogg’s mini-run has carried over for a couple of minutes, with Solomon Hill’s 3-pointer drawing the Cats to 30-24.
There is now 1:14 to go before the break; Arizona with the ball. UA will just fine if it starts playing some defense.
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Bucknell took its largest lead at 27-14 with 5:38 to go in the first half, but five points from Kyle Fogg — including a 3-pointer — brings the crowd to its feet, chanting “U of A … U of A.”
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I’m finding it hard to pay attention to this game; anybody else having the same problem… you know, other than the Cats?
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Not unexpectedly perhaps, but Arizona seems to be going through the motions early, trailing 21-14 with 9:04 to go in the first half. Bucknell has taken far too many uncontested jumpers; denying those kinds of shots has been Arizona’s strength for most of the season.
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Arizona’s NIT game is a lot like most of its regular-season games: The Cats have trouble getting started. Bucknell is up 15-11 at the second media timeout, with 11:59 left in the half. Bison forward Joe Willman is killing Arizona with a soft jumper; he has eight points on 4 of 5 shooting.
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Suspended point guard Josiah Turner was hanging around the court during warm-ups and went with the team to the locker room before the game. He is in sweats and sitting on the UA bench. Coach Sean Miller said earlier this week that Turner would not play again this season.
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Crowd comes to its feet as the Arizona Wildcats make their entrance. Looks like all the lower bowl of McKale could be filled. Nice crowd.
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The Arizona Wildcats haven’t been great with the ball in their hands at the end of games — witness the loss at Colorado, the home defeat against Washington and the loss to the Buffaloes in the Pac-11 tournament.
But, if tonight’s first-round NIT game against Bucknell comes down to the last possession, the Cats don’t want to see the ball in the hands of the Bison’s Mike Muscala.
Muscala, a 6-11 center who was the Patriot League’s Player of the Year in 2011, had a “Christian Laettner moment” that season, catching a length-of-the court pass against Richmond, turning and hitting a jumper for the victory at the buzzer (check out the highlight at the start of the CBS feature on Muscala below).
Muscala spun the opposite way that Laettner did 20 years against Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, so the play isn’t exactly the same.
But still … it was a great play by a very good player — one who poses a difficult matchup for the Wildcats tonight.
“If he were in our conference, he would be one of the elite players in our league,” said Arizona coach Sean Miller. “He’s really skilled. He’s not necessarily just a back-to-basket, big, strong, physical player.”
Muscala averages 16.7 points and 8.9 rebounds; he shoots 50.1 percent from the field and 84.9 percent from the foul line.
“He shoots the ball very well from the perimeter,” Miller said. “A true big guy, but a very skilled big guy.”
Check back during the game for updates and other analysis from Arizona’s first NIT game in 61 years …