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Arizona vs Oregon Basketball Recap

Derrick Williams led Arizona to an 11-1 surge in the opening 3:33 of the second half to help the Wildcats pull away for a 70-57 victory over visiting Oregon.

The U of A began the second half of Thursday night’s Pac-10 matchup at McKale Center with a 36-28 lead over the Ducks. By the time Williams completed his 213-second highlight reel – which featured 11 points on three dunks, two layups and a free throw – the Wildcats had extended their advantage to 47-29.

Arizona (13-11 overall, 7-5 Pac-10) cruised from there, snapping a two-game losing streak and maintaining a share of second place in the league.

“The beginning of the second half – offense, defense – could’ve been our best basketball of the year and it was the difference in the game,” Arizona head coach Sean Miller said.

Williams – a 6-foot-8 freshman who finished with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals – opened the second half with a dunk at the 19:40 mark and added a layup with 18:26 remaining. A minute later, Williams threw down a two-handed slam, and he followed with a right-handed dunk to increase Arizona’s lead to 44-29.

With 16:27 left, Williams completed his 11-point barrage with a basket underneath while surrounded by three defenders. Williams was fouled as he banked in his shot off the glass, and he made his ensuing free throw for the three-point play and an 18-point Arizona advantage.

Williams converted 8 of 10 field goals and 4 of 5 free throws on the night as he reached the 20-point plateau for the eighth time this season.

Williams and his freshman teammates Lamont “MoMo” Jones, Solomon Hill, Kevin Parrom and Kyryl Natyazhko combined to score 32 of the Wildcats’ 34 points in the second half. Jones, a 6-foot guard, finished the game with 11 points and tied for the team lead with six rebounds.

“I think you can be the littlest dude on the court, if you just have the mindset of, ‘I’m just going to play hard,’” Jones said. “You can go out there and get some rebounds. That’s just what I did tonight. My team needed me to rebound.”

Hill contributed eight points and four rebounds for the Wildcats, while Parrom had six points and six boards. Natyazhko added four points and five rebounds.

All totaled, the five freshmen finished with 49 of Arizona’s 70 points and 27 of the Wildcats’ 40 rebounds.

“We’ve counted on them from the early days,” Miller said about the Wildcats’ freshmen quintet. “It’s easier to count on them now because of the experience that they have – not only the game situations they’ve been in, but also the everyday grind of practice. They’re all more sure of themselves now.”

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Senior point guard Nic Wise finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists for the Wildcats, who were coming off consecutive losses at Washington and Washington State.

“We just wanted to bounce back,” Wise said.

Sophomore forward Jeremy Jacob led Oregon (12-11, 4-7) with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Teondre Williams finished with 10 points and six boards.

With the victory, Arizona remained a game behind the first-place California Golden Bears, who defeated Washington 93-81 on Thursday to improve to 16-8 overall and 8-4 in the Pac-10. The Wildcats are tied for second place in the league with Arizona State (17-8, 7-5). The Sun Devils posted a 56-46 victory Thursday over Oregon State.

The Oregon State Beavers (10-13, 4-7) will visit McKale Center on Saturday for a 6 p.m. tip-off against the Wildcats, who are glad to be back home this week after playing seven of their first 11 conference games on the road. Thursday’s contest began a home stretch that has Arizona playing five of its final seven Pac-10 regular-season games in Tucson.

“We’re really talking a lot about taking advantage of playing home games and being at our best,” Miller said.

By Tom Kessler
DFN Sports Staff Writer