Nick Johnson throws down two points in the first half. Photo by Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
A long pass by Solomon Hill from the baseline is tipped away, and the Arizona Wildcats’ season comes to an end, 73-70 to Ohio State in the Sweet 16.
Arizona had an 11-point lead in the first half and then battled back from a 10-point deficit in the second half to tie the game at 70 with 21.8 seconds left. But LaQuinton Ross won it with a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left, similar to how Sean Miller lost to Thad Matta and Ohio State in the Round of 32 when he was at Xavier in 2007.
The Wildcats finish at 27-8.
Be back with locker room reaction later …
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No game-winning shot for Aaron Craft; this time it looks like a game-winning assist. He takes his dribble right and throws back over his shoulder to LaQuinton Ross, who hits a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left. Ohio State calls timeout, up 73-70.
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Aaron Craft misses a driving layup near the end of the shot clock, and Mark Lyons runs the fast break for a three-point play with 21.8 seconds left. Tie game at 70.
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Mark Lyons makes it a one-possession gave with a driving layup. Ohio State has the ball, up 70-67, with 43.0 seconds left at a timeout.
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Arizona almost gets a steal on the inbounds pass, but Jordin Mayes is called for a foul. Aaron Craft makes one free throw.
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With the shot clock running out, LaQuinton Ross drives on Kevin Parrom and twists up a layup with 1:32 to go. Mark Lyons comes down on the other end and is fouled by Aaron Craft with 1:20 left. Lyons makes 2 of 2 free throws. OSU, 69-65.
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Grant Jerrett misses a 3-pointer, but Kevin Parrom grabs the rebounds and the ball gets worked around to Nick Johnson, who spins for a short jumper. Arizona presses after the made basket, and Thad Matta calls timeout with 1:59 to go. OSU 67-63.
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Sean Miller uses last timeout with 2:35 left to preserve possession as Nick Johnson scrambles to the court to secure a loose ball. Cats down 67-61. Miller’s kingdom for a 3-pointer right about now.
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Arizona has missed three consecutive 3-point shots and still trail 67-61 with 3:16 to go. Ohio State has taken care of business by making 15 of 16 free throws this half. The Buckeyes had only eight attempts in the first half, but getting to the line is one of the things they do very well.
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Under five minutes to go. Aaron Craft, who struggled with his free throw shooting late against Iowa State on Sunday, makes a pair to give the Buckeyes a 67-61 lead with 4:52 to go.
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The points are coming fast and furious, with Mark Lyons drawing Arizona within 3 on a 3-pointer. But LaQuinton Ross answers with his own trey on the other end … and back and forth we go. Lyons hits two foul shots with 5:12 left to make it 65-61 OSU.
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Solomon Hill trying to will the Cats single-handedly. he has scored the last nine points for Arizona in what remains a physical and intense game. Ohio State is up 56-52 with 7:59 to go, but it appears the Cats have weathered the worst of it, with Hill carrying the offense with crafty moves in the lane.
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Solomon Hill doesn’t want to stop playing. He hits a fadeaway in the lane, following by a drive and a dunk for a 3-point play.
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Aaron Craft picks up his third foul with 11:31 to go. So, that’s something kinda positive for Arizona. Right now, it’s a 28-9 run for the Buckeyes, who are up 50-42.
Ohio State leads in points off turnovers, 14-4. This figured to be an area of concern for Arizona … and it is.
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Sean Miller has one timeout left with 11:39 to go. Cats down 50-42, outscored 16-4 this half. Ohio State sharp in transition with crisp passing, leading to layups and/or dunks.
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Brandon Ashley breaks the ice for the Wildcats with a 10-foot jumper, but the Cats went 5:03 at the start of the second half without scoring. Ohio State leads 44-40 with 14:16 to play. The Buckeyes had a 22-5 run that started in the first half. Arizona went more than 7 minutes without scoring.
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This is that stretch of offensive death that Arizona seems to have against good teams in every game: 0 of 5, with two turnovers, to start the second half. Sean Miller burns another timeout with 15:01 to go, his team down 44-38.
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Arizona’s fifth possession of the half is a Mark Lyons turnover as he drives into traffic. On the other end, Solomon Hill picks up his third foul with 16:44 to go.
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Ohio State opens the second half on a 6-0 run as Arizona misses three 3-pointers and commits a turnover on an entry pass into Kaleb Tarczewski. Sam Thompson puts in a reverse layup for a 40-38 lead, and Sean Miller calls a timeout with 17:29 to go. Is this that stretch in which Arizona can’t find its offense?
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Arizona opens the second half with two missed 3-pointers. Make that three.
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Second half question: Can Deshaun Thomas beat Arizona by himself? He has 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting. The rest of the Buckeyes are 6 of 19.
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Lute Olson chatting with ex-Cat Harvey Mason in the stands during halftime.
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Ohio State ends the first half on a 12-5 run after twice trailing by as many as 11 points. Deshaun Thomas is a beast, leading the way with 16 points. He’s unguardable right now. Mark Lyons has 10 points for the Wildcats, who are shooting 50 percent from the field.
Arizona is up 38-34 … and the second half should be wild.
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Solomon Hill comes back in with 4:44 to go in the half after sitting for nearly 8 minutes with two fouls. He quickly hits a 3-pointer to stop an Ohio State 6-0 run. LaQuinton Ross answers with a 3-point play with 3:27 left to make it 36-31 Arizona. I’ll just go ahead and say it again, this is big-boy basketball.
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Arizona now trying to toss it into Kaleb Tarczewski. The Cats look for him on back-to-back possessions; he draws a foul on the second try. And, of by the way, Deshaun Thomas is really, really good. He has 11 points, but UA leads 26-20.
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And with a fast-break dunk from Nick Johnson, Arizona has its largest lead of the game, 26-17, with 8:56 to go. The Cats appear to have the superior athleticism and are playing with all due intensity. Crowd is raining down chants of “U of A, U of A.”
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Aaron Craft picks up his second foul with 9:33 to go in the half and leaves the game.
* * *
Mark Lyons is back at it, aggressive and wily in the lane, twisting for buckets on back-to-back drives to the hoop, including a potential 3-point play after a timeout with 10:56 to go. Grant Jerrett also has been huge, with a dunk on an offensive rebound and a 3-point shot.
The Cats are shooting 8 of 14 against a superb defensive team and they lead 21-15, pending Lyons and-one free throw.
* * *
Jordin Mayes gets stuck guarding Deshaun Thomas in the post (not sure how that happened) and picks up his second foul with 12:36 left. Then, Thomas dips his head into Solomon Hill … and Hill gets called for his second foul with 12:30 to go. Trouble.
* * *
I would say Arizona has the crowd edge, but not by a dominating decibel level. Lots of Ohio State fans across the country. Ohio State is on a 7-2 run to pull within 12-11, and Sean Miller calls timeout with 13:11 to play in the half.
* * *
Aaron Craft shows his, uh, craftiness, driving into the lane against Jordin Mayes, stopping and spinning free for a layup.
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Grant Jerrett checks into the game with 15:46 to go in the half. So, yeah, elbow fine.
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First media timeout. Ohio State missed six consecutive shots as Arizona took an 8-2 lead. Deshaun Thomas’ short one-hander makes its 8-4 at the break with 15:46 to go. Give UA another victory in the first “four-minute war.” UA’s NCAA foes are shooting 3 of 22 before the first media timeout.
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Deshaun Thomas scored on OSU’s first possession, giving UA its only deficit of the NCAA Tournament, but UA took control after that, with 3-pointers from Lyons and Kevin Parrom and a drive through traffic by Solomon Hill. Arizona up 8-2 with 16:24 to go.
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So it begins. The matchups are intriguing. Nick Johnson has the defensive assignment of his life, trying to stop Ohio State’s Aaron Craft from successfully directing the Buckeyes’ offense. On the other end, Craft is guarding Mark Lyons, and the OSU junior helps down on Solomon Hill on the first possession, conceding a 3-point attempt from Lyons. He makes it.
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PREGAME
Grant Jerrett, wearing a sleeve on his right arm after suffering an elbow injury last Saturday, just hit five 3-pointers in a row in warmups. On the other hand, he had missed five in a row before that. But the Cats will take 50 percent shooting from behind the arc.
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The Arizona pep band dusts off the “Hi, Lute!” greeting as Olson makes his way to his seats about a dozen rows up from the court. Nice.
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class="size-large wp-image-5176" /> The last time Arizona was in the L.A. area for a Sweet 16 game, Derrick Williams did this to Duke. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
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Downtown LA bout to watch my cats whoop these dudes from Ohio
— Matt Scott (@mscottqb10) March 28, 2013
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LOS ANGELES — Arizona had a bad experience in this city just a month ago, losing at USC and UCLA, but the Wildcats are a different team now.
“We’re more focused on defense than we were the last time,” said senior Solomon Hill.
That’s about it right there. Focus on defense. The Cats slept through February but have been reinvigorated in March, and they will try to take a huge step to the Final Four today against Ohio State fro Staples Center.
Arizona is a team with little margin of error, and defense has to be its calling card.
“We’re playing harder now and playing for something,” senior guard Mark Lyons said. “We’re not going out there expecting to just win. We’re earning it.”
Arizona held Belmont to 29.6 percent shooting and Harvard to 27.8 percent shooting last week. You can quibble about the level of competition, but the Wildcats did what they needed to do.
Check back before and the game for updates and analysis from Staples Center …
Arizona Wildcat for life. Good luck to @arizonabasketball tonight. I’ll be yelling! instagram.com/p/Xahd2bhcD9/
— Harvey Mason, Jr. (@HarveyMasonjr) March 28, 2013
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Countin down the minutes until my cats play can’t wait! #beardown #wildcat4life
— Kyle Fogg (@KFogg21) March 28, 2013
More NCAA Tournament coverage:
Arizona-Ohio State: By the numbers
Arizona-Ohio State: Prediction
Arizona basketball: All about Mark Lyons
Max Wiepking enjoys final ride with Arizona
The opponent’s view: Ohio State’s LaQuinton Ross to the rescue
Javier Morales: Lyons can’t afford to get in one-on-one matchups with Aaron Craft
Javier Morales: Ohio State’s DeShaun Thomas presents a unique challenge for Arizona
Arizona-Ohio State: What they’re saying
Arizona prepares for the Tim Tebow of college basketball
Scott Terrell: The case for claiming all of Arizona’s Sweet 16 appearances