CORVALLIS, Ore. – After Arizona hung on for a 75-65 overtime win at Oregon State on Thursday night, despite a recurrence of Allonzo Trier’s team-infecting nightmare, a curtain was pulled back near the Wildcats’ locker room.
Rawle Alkins and Deandre Ayton walked through it and managed to smile, talking about things like perseverance and the Wildcats’ bench play, on a night when Trier was suspended again for another positive PED test and reserve forward Ira Lee was also missing because of a concussion.
UA coach Sean Miller did not smile.
Miller answered all questions with only a short sentence or two, though he did compliment his team’s resolve.
“We have some great kids, and obviously some terrific players,” he said.
Miller then left his interview session after less than three minutes, saying “I’m good, I gotta go,” as a question about Trier’s status was being asked.
Miller had said on his postgame radio show that he was hopeful Trier’s status could be resolved soon, after the junior guard was suspended Thursday following a test in late January that UA said found a trace amount of the same substance that cost him a 19-game suspension last season.
Trier’s attorney and mother had a lot more to say. Steve Thompson, Trier’s attorney, told Yahoo! Sports that Trier tested positive for Osatarine, which he said that experts have indicated can stay in fatty tissues for a long time.
Trier was allowed to play starting on Jan. 21 last season when he tested clean of the substance.
“The NCAA’s intransigence on this issue is mind-boggling,” Thompson told Yahoo.
Trier’s mother, Marcie, also defended her son strongly in a text message to the Star.
“I promise you, Allonzo did nothing wrong,” she said. “This is a tragedy not only for him, my family, but also his team, the entire U of A program and all their beloved fans, followers and alumni.”
Without Trier on Thursday, the Wildcats struggled to get by. The Wildcats hung on in overtime after Alkins sank a pair of 3-pointers to key a 10-point run during the extra period and Ayton posted the 18th double-double of the season.
Ayton led Arizona with 19 points and 12 rebounds while Alkins wound up with 16 points and eight rebounds, hitting a pair of free throws to tie the game with 14 seconds left in regulation, then hitting two 3-pointers in overtime to lead the Wildcats.
“When I hit those two free throws – those were probably the biggest free throws of my life – once I got that going, I started to get comfortable and get my confidence going,” Alkins said. “The rest was history.”
Arizona went ahead 68-64 with 2:59 remaining in OT on a 3-pointer from the left corner by 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.
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.
“It just gave other guys a chance to step up,” Ayton said.
In particular, Miller swapped Dylan Smith in the starting lineup for Trier and played Alex Barcello for only the second time in the last nine games, using him as a backup point guard, where Trier had also been playing when Parker Jackson-Cartwright was out.
The UA bench combined for 6-of-9 shooting in the first half, with Barcello hitting both of his, and Ayton said he was proud to see the bench’s production.
Miller also played Emmanuel Akot a total of 25 minutes, starting him in place of Smith during the overtime period.
“I thought Emmanuel did a great job,” Miller said. “He gave us some really good defense.”
In regulation, OSU held a two-point lead and had an opportunity to make it a two-possession game with 48 seconds left when 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 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 Ristic led the Wildcats in scoring with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting before halftime, while Ayton had four points, six rebounds and three assists.
Arizona shot 51.7 percent from the field in the first half, though it also allowed the Beavers to hit 50 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 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 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.
