Arizona staved off a second-to-last-place Washington team, 75-74, at McKale Center on Saturday. Freshman forward Azuolas Tubelisβ late-game heroics lifted the UA to victory when he canned a baseline jumpshot with six seconds remaining.
The Wildcatsβ win over the Huskies marked the first time all season Arizona swept a Pac-12 weekend series at home.
How did the UA do it? These numbers tell explain how Arizona pulled off the win on Saturday:
26Tubelisβ game-winning shot decided Arizonaβs fate on Saturday, but the bulk of the Wildcatsβ scoring came from James Akinjo. The point guard recorded a career-high 26 points while also tabbing seven assists and three rebounds. He turned the ball over just twice.
More importantly, Akinjo also assisted Tubelis for the game-winning basket.
Over the last four games against the Washington and L.A. schools, Akinjo has averaged 21.5 points and 5.3 assists.
βIf we didnβt have him β weβre 17-8 β I think weβd be 8-17. We might even be 5-20. Thatβs how much he means to our team,β said UA coach Sean Miller. βToday, he dominated the game from our perspective. Heβs learning to be a true floor general, but his big heart, his perseverance, his ability to both score and distribute, the toughness that he displays.β
Added Miller: βMy peers β the coaches in this league β when they start with Arizona, they start with him. Heβs our heart and soul, and heβs had a fantastic season.β
2Tubelis posted 16 points and 15 rebounds, his second double-double of the season and made 6 of 7 free throws. Tubelis said after the game that heβs settled in with Arizonaβs personnel.
βI feel more comfortable on this team and they can find me, I can find them,β he said.
Akinjo has also noticed Tubelisβ confidence grow over the entire season.
βIβve seen him get more physical and more confident with himself in late-game situations like this,β said Akinjo. βWe donβt even look at him as a freshman. I think Azuolas is an important piece to this team and thatβs what it is. We need him to play, and heβs grown up and gotten better.β
Tubelis said he was motivated to play well on Saturday. It was his motherβs birthday.
βI needed to go hard and win the game,β Tubelis said.
2Washington had two players foul out, forwards Hameir Wright and Nate Roberts. Wright was one of five Huskies to score in double figures and tallied 18 points.
8Saturday was Senior Day, and Miller rewarded senior forward Ira Lee with a start.
It was Leeβs eighth time in Arizonaβs starting lineup.
13Freshman wing Bennedict Mathurin finished Saturday with a career-high 13 rebounds, the most boards since his 24-point, 11-rebound performance in the Wildcatsβ double-overtime win at Washington State in January. Mathurin also added 10 points to give him his second double-double of the season.
18One could make the case rebounding was the primary reason Arizona held off Washington. The Wildcats outrebounded the Huskies 41-29 and dominated the offensive glass, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds compared to Washingtonβs 3.
Arizona finished the game with 18 second-chance points compared to Washingtonβs three.
Photos: Arizona Wildcats edge Washington on Senior Day