Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis (10) tries to work his way to the basket against Oregon center Kel’el Ware (10) in the first half of their Pac 12 McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 2, 2023.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

On the very same night that former Wildcat great Al Fleming was honored posthumously for his previous induction into the Arizona Ring of Honor, Azuolas Tubelis nearly took one of his records away.

Tubelis scored 40 points to lead Arizona to a 91-76 win over Oregon, just one point shy of the McKale Center scoring record that Fleming set against Detroit on Jan. 10, 1976 β€” and Tubelis probably would have broken it if his teammates had a clue he was that close.

Tubelis reached the 40-point mark with 7:33 left in the game but dished two assists from there and recorded a game-sealing block with 1:08 left. Guard Kerr Kriisa hit two 3-pointers that he later regretted in the final 75 seconds.

β€œI wish I did know that,” Kriisa said of the scoring record possibility. β€œOf course, if I had known that I would have given the ball to β€˜Zu’ or definitely when we dribbled out (at the end of the game), I definitely should have dumped the ball in.”

UA coach Tommy Lloyd said he didn’t know that Tubelis was close to the record, saying that communications staffer Nate Wiechers is β€œwell-informed not to tell me anything. It’s like a pitcher having a no-hitter. We’re just playing the game, trying to win the basketball game.”

Wiechers said he actually did tell UA assistant coaches, but, for whatever reason, the message didn’t get all the way to the players.

The Wildcats were trying to win the game, sure, and it wasn’t a guarantee. That’s why Tubelis was still on the floor, having played 36 minutes.

Arizona led 50-35 at halftime and by up to 20 points in the second half, but Oregon cut it to 85-75 with 2:16 left after a pair of free throws by Ducks guard Will Richardson. Kriisa then hit the first of two daggers 3-pointers with 1:15 left, and Tubelis raced downcourt to swat away an ensuing layup from Oregon’s Keeshawn Barthelemy.

That left UA leading 88-75 entering the final 1:03, when Tubelis easily could have taken the scoring matter into his own hands. But he said he didn’t know about the record, either.

Among other opportunities, with 56 seconds left, Tubelis was driving with the ball toward the basket and had only one defender in front of him β€” but opted to pass the ball to the right wing.

Azuolas Tubelis dropped 40 points and nine rebounds in No. 5 Arizona's 91-76 win over the Oregon Ducks on Thursday.

UA wound up scoring on Kriisa’s final 3 on that possession. Then, after Oregon’s N’Faly Dante hit 1 of 2 free throws, Kriisa dribbled near midcourt while the final seconds ticked off the clock.

That was enough to move Arizona to 20-3, 9-3 in the Pac-12, avenging the Wildcats’ 87-68 loss to Oregon on Jan. 14 in Eugene. It also kept the Wildcats a game behind first-place UCLA in the Pac-12 race after the Bruins beat Washington earlier Thursday.

Oregon dropped to 13-10, 7-5. The Ducks had won eight of the previous nine meetings with the Wildcats.

Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) has hug for teammate forward Azuolas Tubelis (10) after Tubelis scored 40 pints against Oregon at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 2, 2023. Tubelis fell one short point of the Wildcat record for points scored at McKale.

Tubelis finished with nine rebounds, three assists, the late block and three steals. He shot 16 of 21 from the field and hit 8 of 9 free throws.

β€œObviously, Zu was spectacular tonight,” Lloyd said. β€œ The way the ball was coming off his hands was something special. You just don’t see it every day. It’s probably the equivalent of watching a great pitcher. You can just see the ball snaps out of their fingers, you know it’s going to be one of those nights.”

While Tubelis said it helped motivate him playing in front of his mother and several friends, including a former teammate from his club team in Lithuania, he credited his teammates for finding him .

β€œI finished everything,” Tubelis said. β€œShots went in. I had a lot of points, and I have to give credit to my teammates.”

Racing to the basket often, sometimes lifting up short jumpers and also attracting fouls, Tubelis was stunningly efficient. He helped UA shoot 53.4% overall while holding Oregon to 41.3%.

Arizona led 50-35 at halftime. The Ducks crept within 10, 54-44, when Richardson hit a 3-pointer with 17:21 left. It was at that point that the scoring record came within Tubelis’ reach: He scored two more baskets over the next minute, and Arizona’s lead remained in double digits the rest of the way.

Tubelis broke his career high of 32 points with 15 minutes left in the game and kept going. He also dished off assists to Kylan Boswell, one for a corner 3-pointer, and bounced the ball under the basket to Oumar Ballo for a layup that gave UA a 71-58 lead.

Then, after the refs ruled a no-call on Kriisa’s fall to the floor after apparent contact from Dante, Tubelis drew a foul from Oregon’s Keeshawn Barthelemy under the basket, converting the three-point play to give UA an 81-63 lead – while reaching the 40-point mark exactly.

In the first half, Tubelis ripped through the Oregon defense to collect a career first-half-high 27 points and seven rebounds.

The Wildcats used an early 21-2 run early to take the lead for all but two minutes of the half.

While Oregon cut UA’s lead to single digits at several points in the first half, Tubelis kept racing through the Ducks to score and/or pick up fouls and get to the line. The Ducks started two former five-star big men, the 6-11 Dante and 7-footer Nate Bittle, but couldn’t stop Tubelis.

That proved to be a trend that carried throughout the second half too. hitting the rim and it and so yeah, he just had one of those nights

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Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com.

On Twitter: @brucepascoe