CORVALLIS, Ore. – Without starter Allonzo Trier and key reserve Ira Lee, the Arizona Wildcats still found enough to win at oft-troubling Gill Coliseum on Thursday.
Barely. The Wildcats hung on for a 75-65 win in overtime after Rawle Alkins sank a pair of 3-pointers to key a 10-run during the extra period and Deandre Ayton posted the 18th double-double of the season.
Alkins wound up with 16 points and eight rebounds while Ayton led Arizona with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The Wildcats shot 48.2 percent overall but were just 5 of 16 from 3-point range, saved by Alkins’ 2-of-4 long-range shooting. UA kept the Beavers to just 40-percent shooting and 31.8 percent from 3-point range.
Arizona had played only one previous OT game this season, winning 91-88 at UNLV. Trier and Ayton combined for all 13 of UA's overtime points in that game but Trier was missing in this one after being suspended for a positive PED test.
Lee was also missing after suffering a concussion in practice Tuesday. Dylan Smith started in Trier’s place and Alex Barcello played some backup point guard, a role Trier had also been playing before he was suspended Thursday for another positive PED test.
UA coach Sean Miller filled the minutes by handing 41 minutes to Ayton and using Emmanuel Akot for 25, with Akot also starting the overtime period.
In overtime, Arizona went ahead 68-64 with 2:59 on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Rawle Alkins and took a 70-64 lead on a hook shot from Dusan Ristic. By the time Alkins hit his second three, from the left wing with 1:11 left, Arizona led 73-64 and fans began filing out of Gill Coliseum.
The win moved Arizona to 22-6 overall and 12-3 in the Pac-12, giving the Wildcats a chance to clinch a share of the league title on Saturday at Oregon. Oregon State dropped to 13-14 and 5-10.
In regulation, OSU held a two-point lead and had an opportunity to make it a two-possession game with 48 seconds left when Deandre Ayton lost the ball under the basket, but Ethan Thompson missed an open 3-pointer in the corner and OSU’s Stephen Thompson Jr. fouled Rawle Alkins with 14 seconds left.
Alkins made both free throws, tying the game at 61, and OSU failed to score on its final possession when Stephen Thompson Jr. dribbled on the perimeter but could not get open or pass and threw up a 15-footer that missed.
Up by eight at halftime, Arizona gradually allowed the Beavers to gain ground over the first 10 minutes of the half and OSU tied it at 50 on a jumper from big man Gligorije Rakocevic with 9:51 left to play. The score remained within one possession the rest of the way, with Oregon State tying it and taking a one-point lead, 58-57, on a pair of free throws by Stephen Thompson Jr. with 4:05 left.
OSU then carried a two-point lead, 61-59, into the final two minutes after Drew Eubanks hit 1 of 2 free throws.
In the first half, Arizona led 37-29 after Dusan Ristic led the Wildcats in scoring with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting before halftime, while Deandre Ayton had four points, six rebounds and three assists.
Arizona shot 51.7 percent from the field, though it also allowed the Beavers to hit 50.0 percent. Ethan Thompson led OSU with 11 points and four rebounds, while brother Stevie had eight points and three assists.
Arizona struggled initially, trailing 8-3 after less than three minutes when the Wildcats missed three of their first four shots. But UA coach Sean Miller called a timeout with 17:11 left in the half, and the Wildcats responded to take a 12-8 lead,, getting baskets from reserves Keanu Pinder and Brandon Randolph
The Wildcats later went on a 11-0 run over the middle of the first half to take a 27-15 lead by the time Dusan Ristic scored with 7:45 left in the half. OSU kept it within double-digits at the end of the half thanks largely to the three 3-pointers Ethan Thompson hit over an 85-second period late in the half.
