Justin Coleman hit a 3-pointer with 1:03 left to give Arizona a 70-68 win over UC Davis on Saturday at McKale Center after the Aggies erased the Wildcatsβ early 15-point lead to create a suspenseful finish.
Brandon Randolph led the Wildcats with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Chase Jeter had 16 points and five rebounds.
With the win, Arizona finished its nonconference season at 9-4. The Wildcats will take a four-day holiday break and are scheduled to return Thursday to begin preparing for the Pac-12 season that they will open on Jan. 3 against Colorado.
UC Davis held a 68-67 lead with 1:07 left but Coleman sank the 3-pointer off an inbounds pass four seconds later to give the Wildcats a 70-68 lead and Shorts called timeout with 53.6 seconds left. Afterward, Shorts drove inside but threw a layup high off the glass and it didnβt go in.
Shorts then blocked Colemanβs layup with 15 seconds left but the Aggies couldnβt get off a good shot on their final possession, with Rogers Printup missing a 3-point attempt just before the buzzer.
MORE:Β Holiday comes early for Wildcats thanks to a Justin Coleman 3-pointer
After trailing by up to 15 points in the first half, UC Davis tied it at 48 on a three-point play from Garrison Goode with 14:17 left. The Aggies then tied the game seven more times before Shorts made a layup to give them a 64-62 lead with 4:58 left.
After Randolph hit a pair of free throws to tie it again at 64, Shorts drove in and around the basket to make another layup that gave the Aggies a 66-64 lead heading into the final media timeout with 3:18 left.
Coleman made 1 of 2 free throws to give UA a 67-66 lead but Shorts came back with another layup with 1:37 left to give the Aggies a 68-67 lead.
UC Davis made its first five field goals of the second half, often on backdoor cuts behind the UA defense, to go on a 12-5 run and cut UAβs lead to just 46-42 with 16:38 left.
The Wildcats had led by up to 15 points in the first half and carried a 41-30 lead into halftime.
FIRST HALF UPDATE: Jeter had 12 points and Arizona shot 57.7 percent from the field to take a 41-30 halftime lead over UC Davis in the Wildcatsβ final nonconference game Saturday at McKale Center.
The Wildcats shot just 35.8 percent from the field a week ago at McKale in a 58-49 loss to Baylor, and went just 2 of 12 from 3-point territory against Montana on Wednesday, but hit 12 of their first 18 shots over the first 12 minutes to set the tone.
Ira Lee added a season-high eight points in the first half alone.
Overall, Arizona was 15 of 26 from the field, but just 2 of 7 from 3-point range.
UC Davis shot 44.0 percent and missed its only two 3-point attempts.Β
Arizona went on an 18-6 run in the middle of the first half to take a 34-29 lead when Emmanuel Akot made a rebound basket with 8:13 left.
As he indicated after the Wildcats beat Montana on Wednesday, UA coach Sean Miller turned early to freshman guard Devonaire Doutrive, who did not play in three straight games before appearing against Montana.
Miller inserted Doutrive for Justin Coleman with 13:48 left in the first half, and Doutrive quickly picked up a pair of offensive rebounds off missed shots by Brandon Williams. Doutrive added an assist and missed his only field-goal attempt, a 3-point try, while playing four minutes in the half.
