LAHAINA, Hawaii – The West’s top nonconference rivalry didn’t disappoint in Maui Invitational championship, but once again the Arizona Wildcats came out on top.
Despite struggling with foul trouble for the entire game, Arizona pulled out a hard-fought 61-59 win over San Diego State at the Lahaina Civic Center. It was the Wildcats’ fourth straight win over SDSU, dating back to the 2012-13 Diamond Head Classic, and their second Maui Invitational title in six appearances.
Shooting 47.1 percent over the first 16 minutes of the second half, Arizona managed to hold a 53-51 lead entering the final three minutes. Kaleb Tarczewski fouled out with 1:47 left, when UA led 55-51.
The Wildcats hung on from there but it was close until the final seconds. SDSU's Trey Kell made a four-point play with 17 seconds left that cut UA's lead to 57-55. Kell picked up a foul from Brandon Ashley on his three-point attempt, then sank the ensuing free throw.
Stanley Johnson, who led UA in scoring with 18 points and had nine rebounds, had sunk four free throws in the last 34 seconds to seal the win but it took two more from T.J. McConnell with three seconds left to give UA enough. The Aztecs cut it to 61-59 on a three-pointer from SDSU's Winston Shepard with 0.9 seconds left, though it wasn't quite enough.
Johnson was named the MVP of the Maui Invitational, while Arizona's Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made the all-tournament team along with Winston Shepard and Trey Kell of SDSU, Michael Young of Pittsburgh and Tyler Haws of BYU.
The opening minutes of the second half pretty much mirrored the first half, after which the Wildcats led 32-31. Arizona managed to score four points on three SDSU turnovers midway through the second half – two were steals by Johnson – and took a 47-45 lead. The Wildcats were up 30-48 when McConnell hit a three-pointer with 7:34 to go.
After a wild first half when Arizona struggled with defense and foul trouble, the Wildcats pulled out a 32-31 halftime lead.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson pulled the Wildcats to within a point, 29-28, when he scored inside and then hit two free throws after a rebound, and Stanley Johnson put UA ahead 30-29 when he charged in for a layup with 2:10 left.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright put UA up 32-29 with a layup in traffic and SDSU's Winston Shepard made a layup with 18 seconds left for the final score, with a late jump shot from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson failing.
Arizona made just 33.3 percent of its field goals but was 8 of 9 from the free-throw line and outrebounded the Aztecs 19-15. The Wildcats also picked up 13 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds. Stanley Johnson led the Wildcats in first-half scoring with nine points.
The win moved Arizona to 6-0 and extended the Wildcats' streak of nonconference wins to 33 games.
Arizona is now 12-6 over six appearances in the Maui Invitational. The Wildcats were 1-2 in Maui when UA coach Sean Miller brought his first UA team here in 2009-10.
Arizona will return to McKale Center for a five-game homestand that will include marquee games with Gonzaga and Michigan.
In the first half, San Diego State made 52.6 percent of its field goals but turned the ball over eight times. Polee led the Aztecs in scoring with 10 points.
Arizona sank deep into foul trouble toward the end of the first half. While Kaleb Tarczewski picked up two early fouls, guard T.J. McConnell had three with 5:37 left to go, leaving point guard duties squarely in the hands of Jackson-Cartwright. Guard Gabe York also had three at that point.
Through the first 12 minutes, Arizona shot just 30 percent from the field while allowing SDSU to make 6 of 9 field goals. The Aztecs also hit 7 of 11 free throws to that point.
The Wildcats went off to another tough start, making one of their first five field goals and allowing San Diego State to make 3 of 4. York missed a three-pointer on UA’s opening possession and fouled Dwayne Polee II, who hit all three free throws.
Tarczewski also missed a dunk during the opening stretch.
Former UA forward Angelo Chol entered the game at the 16:13 mark and immediately made himself known. Having said last year that he wanted to play UA in Maui so the Wildcats could “see the mistakes they made by not letting me play," Chol helped defend Tarczewski when he missed the dunk and later blocked Dusan Ristic, though the ball went back to UA and the Wildcats scored on a jumper from Brandon Ashley to cut SDSU’s lead to 16-13 with 11:29 left in the first half.
