Jamelle Horne, alone with his thoughts. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jamelle Horne’s first reaction was to bring his hands, balled into fists, near his face. Disbelief. Dismay.

Time had run out. UConn was celebrating. Arizona was stunned.

Just moments earlier, Horne had launched a 3-point attempt from the right angle with about three seconds left. UConn star guard Kemba Walker watched in fear. This was it. Make or miss. Win or lose. Final Four on the line for both teams. With the ball in the air, Walker shouted, “Game time!”

The shot looked good. Horne said later it felt good.

It wasn’t good.

Arizona’s season — the one with 30 victories, a Pac-10 title and a thoroughly memorable and satisfying run to the West Region final — took an unkind bounce off the front of the rim and came to an end with a 65-63 loss to UConn on Saturday at the Honda Center.

Horne immediately turned to walk off the court toward the locker room. An official wouldn’t let him leave. It’s the NCAA Tournament. There is no damn place to hide.

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It seems as if UConn's Kemba Walker can score with his eyes closed.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images.

The last question for Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller at Thursday’s postgame press conference was about UA’s regional final opponent, UConn.

“I don’t know a lot about UConn,” he said. “But I do know Kemba Walker.”

That would be the junior point guard who is an All-American … who scored 36 points in the Sweet 16 against San Diego State … who had 33 points in an NCAA Tournament win over Cincinnati … who had 12 assists and nearly a triple-double in an tourney win over Bucknell … who led the Huskies to five wins in five days to win the Big East Tournament … who is averaging 27.1 points in the team’s eight-game winning streak.

Yeah, that Kemba Walker.

“Our goal was to try to contain him,” said San Diego State forward Billy White. “You know, he’s almost impossible to stop.”

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