Arizona Wildcats finding two-headed point guard with Kylan Boswell, Jaden Bradley

TEMPE — In the ongoing debate about whether Kylan Boswell or Jaden Bradley is Arizona’s best option at point guard, the Wildcats found another possible answer Wednesday.

Both of them.

Bradley’s efficient ascendance this season has demanded more minutes in recent weeks but, during Arizona’s 85-67 win at ASU on Wednesday, he and Boswell each played more than 23 minutes and spent over eight of them doing so together.

When they were on the floor at the same time, Arizona outscored ASU 13-11 and the Wildcats were 7-3 with them during a critical three-minute stretch in the second half when the Sun Devils were trying to cut UA’s lead below five points.

Boswell and Bradley picked up four fouls each but that’s where having them both able to fill in for each other comes in handy, too.

“The combination of those two was exceptional,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. “They both kind of had foul trouble so we were kind of yinging and yanging a little bit in the game and JB ended up out there in that finishing lineup.”

While hitting half his field goals, Bradley was called for an offensive charge in the first half when driving for a layup but he also stole the ball from ASU’s Jamiya Neal in the second half and broke free for a layup that gave the Wildcats a 59-49 lead with nine minutes to go.

“It was a big turn of events for sure,” Lloyd said of that play.

ASU cut Arizona’s lead to five two minutes later but never came closer while Lloyd went with his “finishing lineup” over the next six minutes: Bradley along with UA’s four other starters — Caleb Love and Pelle Larsson on the wings, Keshad Johnson at power forward and Oumar Ballo at center.

The Wildcats outscored ASU 22-10 over that six-minute span.

“I’m totally comfortable with him there,” Lloyd said of Bradley in that final lineup. “JB’s a winner. He makes big plays. I always know he’s going to. He’s not scared of the moment.”

Bradley ended up with seven points on 3-for-6 shooting, along with three rebounds, an assists and two steals. Boswell led the Wildcats in scoring with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, dishing two assists to one turnover.

Maybe not coincidentally, Boswell’s production came after Lloyd verbally tore into him during a rough moment in the Wildcats’ win over Washington last Saturday at McKale Center. Lloyd said he did so because he loved and thought highly of Boswell, while Boswell later texted him later that night with an apology.

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Boswell said it helped to know that Lloyd “had his back,” and that their exchange Saturday helped carry into Wednesday’s game.

“For sure,” Boswell said. “A lot of people had their own opinions about the moment. Nobody on the outside knows me and coach Lloyd’s real relationship. I was upset at myself.

“Sometimes you want to hear the truth but and then after reflecting on it, I realized he’s always on me, trying to get on me. He’s always gonna support me for sure, and he always wants the best for me. So after the game, I texted him to apologize.”

Also helping, the way Boswell explained it: That Bradley was on the floor with him. Afterward, UA chose Boswell and Bradley to appear for its player interviews in a Desert Financial Arena hallway, a sign they had, together, led the Wildcats to their win over the Sun Devils.

“I always feel like I play my best when I run the court with him,” Boswell said. “Me and him have great chemistry. It’s been building throughout the year. I always watch him work out. He knows stuff I like and I know stuff he likes. It only gets better from here.”

Rim shots

UA’s five seniors are scheduled to take part in a Senior Day ceremony before the Wildcats’ game with Oregon at noon Saturday at McKale. All of them except Keshad Johnson still have a “COVID” year of eligibility remaining but Lloyd said he didn’t know if they were all definitely leaving. “We haven’t even had those conversations,” Lloyd said.

Former UA player and assistant coach Josh Pastner is scheduled to call the UA-Oregon game Saturday for ESPN along with play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch. After serving as head coach at Memphis and Georgia Tech, Pastner has been working for Peacock, ESPN and CBS Sports Network for studio and on-site work this season.

Former major-league baseball all-star Kenny Lofton is scheduled for his formal UA Ring of Honor induction at halftime Saturday. Lofton played mostly basketball at UA but qualified based on his 10 years playing sports at a major-league level.

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Photos: Arizona scraps out an 85-67 win on the road at Arizona State, Pac 12 basketball