SALT LAKE CITY — The Arizona Wildcats are moving on, beating Belmont 81-64 Thursday night and advancing to face the winner of the New Mexico-Harvard game.
Arizona led all the way against the Bruins and were up by as many as 21 in the second half. Belmont cut that to 11 with 5:27 left, but the Wildcats answered the call from there.
Mark Lyons led Arizona with 23 points, including two on a wide-open jam after a drive down the lane with 1:22 to go. He made 8 of 15 shots.
Arizona quieted Belmont’s 3-point attack, which is one of the most prolific in the country. The Bruins made 8 of 27 from behind the arc, 29.6 percent. The Cats shot 67.9 percent in the second half.
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Arizona putting this away with a nice post move by Grant Jerrett, a steal by Jerrett and then a finish by Nick Johnson. Cats up 75-58.
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Mark Lyons has done a lot tonight, but his first assist doesn’t come until 4:06 pass on a lob to Kaleb Tarczewski. The big fella fouls out on the other end with 3:56 to go. So, we’re at the final media timeout, Arizona up 71-56. Tarczewski ends with 10 points, eight rebounds.
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Kevin Parrom stems the Belmont tide with a strong drive to the hoop for a 66-53 lead.
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Belmont won’t go away. Ian Clark hits a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 65-50 Arizona, and then J.J. Mann steals the in-bounds pass and drains a trey from the spot. Sean Miller calls timeout with 5:27 left, up 65-53 and some work still to do. Belmont on a 10-0 run.
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This has been Mark Lyons at his best. OK, he doesn’t have an assist, but the offense is running mostly smoothly and he’s scoring on drives and 3-pointers. He has made 7 of 13 shots from the field and has been interested in playing defense, too.
Belmont has three players with four fouls.
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Mark Lyons hits another 3-pointer (his third) to give him 19 points, his career-high in his eighth NCAA Tournament game. Arizona stiff-arming Belmont, leading 53-36 with 12 minutes to play. It would be a confidence boost for the Cats to close this one out without any drama.
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Mark Lyons up to 14 points with 15:29 to go. His high for an NCAA Tournament game is 16. Arizona leads 43-26. The season-low for Belmont is 60 points, vs. Kansas on Dec. 15. Dec. 15? That date rings a bell.
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Belmont coach Rick Byrd needs a timeout with 17:04 to go after Grant Jerrett throws down a Kevin Parrom miss for a 41-23 lead. Arizona is choking off Belmont’s 3-point shooting and has too much size for the Bruins to do much inside the 3-point line.
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Mark Lyons scores the first points of the second half with a 3-pointer. Good game so far for Lyons.
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Belmont didn’t score a field goal in the final 5:13 of the first half. Let’s see if the Cats have any kind of a killer instinct in the second half.
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Mark Lyons leads Arizona with nine points at halftime. Belmont shooting just 25.9 percent, including 2 of 13 from 3-point range.
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Kevin Parrom grabs an offensive rebound and is fouled with 0.3 seconds before half. He makes one to make it 32-20 at halftime. Cats end the half on an 11-2 run. Arizona has a 27-9 rebounding advantage and has taken Belmont out of its usual offensive rhythm. The 20 points at halftime is a season-low for the Bruins.
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Brandon Ashley with a baseline jump hook with 48 seconds before half gives Arizona its largest lead at 31-20. Good finish to the half with Solomon Hill on the bench.
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Hey, a charge/block call went Arizona’s way. Belmont played not allowed to look incredulous. Kevin Parrom makes 1 of 2 free throws for a 29-20 lead.
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Solomon Hill picks up third foul with 2:59 left.
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Two themes:
1. Rebounding. Arizona with a 20-8 edge.
2. Turnovers: Belmont has 11 points off turnovers (remember, offensive fouls are turnovers, too) and the Cats have none.
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OK, that’s now six offensive fouls for Arizona with 3:14 to play in the half. Cats up 23-18. Brandon Ashley picked up the most recent foul on a ball screen for Mark Lyons.
Apparently the zebras doing the Belmont Az game are being paid by the offensive foul
— Tom Tolbert (@byronjr23) March 22, 2013
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Arizona has been called for five offensive fouls in the first half, but Sean Miller is on good behavior so far. After the last call, he merely crouched and stared without expression. Oh to be inside his head …
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The Wildcats have gone cold since taking a 14-4 lead. They are 1 of 4 from the field with three turnovers since then, as the Bruins have gotten back into it at 16-14 with 7:51 to go. A 16-5 rebounding edge has helped the Cats hold the lead.
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Kaleb Tarczewski ends a 7-0 Belmont run with a monster dunk, but Ian Clark comes back with a 3 … and the Bruins showing no fear, down just 16-14.
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Belmont gets to within 14-9 on a drive and big right-handed dunk from Blake Jenkins. Sean Miller calls timeout with 9:48 to go. Cats have been called for three offensive fouls (four including Solomon Hill’s technical). I bet Miller says nothing about this after the game.
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Kerron Johnson hits Belmont’s first 3-pointer of the game with 10:54 to go in the half. Bruins are 1 of 5 from behind the arc. With the way the Cats are rebounding, Belmont is going to have be absolutely lights out from long range.
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Jordin Mayes continues a late-season hot streak by hitting his first 3-pointer of the game. That gives the Cats a 14-4 lead with 11:57 lead. Who gets to deliver this bad bracket news to President Obama?
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With about 13 minutes to go in the half, Arizona already has a double-digit edge in rebounds, 13-3. Belmont can’t run if Cats are grabbing the offensive boards.
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Sean Miller makes a gutsy call, puts Solomon Hill back in the game with 14:48 to go.
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Arizona leads 9-4 at first media timeout. Belmont is 1 of 8 from the field. Tarczewski has four points, three rebounds and one block against the height-challenged Bruins.
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Solomon Hill hits a 3-pointer than gets called for a technical as he runs back for defense. Looks like all he did was clap his hands a few times, but maybe he said something. If so, it must have been something stronger than “he touched the ball.”
In any case, that’s his second foul with 16:46 and he comes out of the game in favor of Brandon Ashley.
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Belmont scoreless until 17:12, when Ian Clark spins nicely to the hoop for two points. Arizona up 4-2 and spending a lot of time on offense looking for Tarczewski.
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Arizona tries to throw a lob for Kaleb Tarczewski on its first possession, establishing its height advantage, but Mark Lyons’ pass goes awry. I know, shocker. UA keeps possession, though, and Zeus takes the ball to the rim and is fouled.
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The usual starting linuep for Arizona.
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There will be a lot of empty green seats at tip-off. Fans can’t get to their seats in time because the first session ran long. Bad showing by NCAA to not push this back a bit (but I guess TV had their say).
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The first session in Salt Lake City ran a bit long, so the Arizona game is running about 10 minutes late. Fans had to clear the arena at halftime, so it’s going to be impossible to get everyone back in unless they push the tip back further.
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Arizona Wildcats’ coach Sean Miller compared Belmont guard Ian Clark to a combination of UCLA’s Jordan Adams and Colorado’s Spencer Dinwiddie.
Doesn’t sound good for Arizona.
UA guard Nick Johnson, who will handle the primary defensive assignment, had another Pac-12 player in mind.
“I want to say a little bit of C.J. Wilcox,” Johnson said of the Washington guard. “Pure shooting ability.”
This is the key matchup of the game. Clark leads a prolific 3-point attack, hitting a national-best 46.3 percent (99 of 214) and averaging 18.1 points per game. Johnson has regained his defensive chops of late.
“He has all the athletic talent,” Miller said of Johnson. “He has the mindset to be great. I believe one day he will be an elite defender.
“When we have played well defensively, he has had a big part in it, and he may be meeting the biggest challenge of his season in Ian Clark.”
Johnson said Clark has NBA range, but the Bruins’ senior isn’t just a spot-up shooter. He can beat defenders off the dribble and finish at the basket or pull up for mid-range floaters.
“He’s not really one who forces any shots. He takes good shots,” Johnson said.
“They have a really good point guard (Kerron Johnson) who drives, kicks, gets him open shots. And he can create his own shots, also. It’s definitely a matchup that I’m looking forward to and have to be ready for.”
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CBS Sports analyst Doug Gottlieb, who is calling the games from Salt Lake City, made his picks for the Thursday and Friday games. This is what he wrote on Arizona-Belmont:
Arizona has a unique toughness about it. Mark Lyons exudes competitiveness and fire as he is back in the NCAA tournament with a different team in successive years. Solomon Hill seems much more comfortable at the face-up 4 than at the 3, but Belmont is not affected by Zona’s small lineup. Ian Clark is a flat-out, dead-eye 3-point shooter and Kerron Johnson leads incredibly well. My biggest question is who does Kaleb Tarczewski or Brandon Ashley guard? Trevor Noack as a face-up 5 is a hard cover for the Zona bigs. I think Zona wins, but it will be a barnburner. Look for Lyons to win it late in a mano-a-mano showdown with Johnson.
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In case you missed any of it, recapping NCAA Tournament coverage on TucsonCitizen.com:
Mom’s move to Tucson a blessing for center Kaleb Tarczewski
Arizona notebook: Mark Lyons looking to get hot in the NCAA Tournament
Wildcats respond to President Obama’s upset pick
Jordin Mayes solves confidence issue in March
Arizona-Belmont: By the numbers
Belmont’s element of surprise in NCAA Tournament fades away
Javier Morales: Rundown of Arizona, Belmont, Harvard and New Mexico from A to Z
Scott Terrell: This week in the Pac-12
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Other Arizona-Belmont pregame morsels …
Jack Magruder of Fox Sports Arizona takes a look at Belmont’s 3-point prowess and Arizona’s defense
Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic takes a deeper look at Nick Johnson’s perimeter defense.
Greg Bishop of the New York Times looks at Belmont’s history as one of the nation’s best outside shooting teams.
Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star writes that Belmont may stir up painful memories
Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star says Arizona should feel right at home in Salt Lake City
The Salt Lake Tribune says Arizona is limping into the tournament.