Arizona survives OT scare against Utah
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Gabe York and Nick Johnson scored 15 points apiece as No. 4 Arizona went into Huntsman Center and escaped with a 67-63 overtime win over Utah in a Pac-12 battle on Wednesday.
York, making his first start of the season, sank a game-high three 3-pointers for Arizona (24-2, 11-2 Pac-12), which broke out of a brief two-game road losing skid. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson contributed 13 points off the bench and T.J. McConnell registered 11 points with six assists.
Star freshman Aaron Gordon was plagued with foul trouble and picked up his fifth midway through the second half, finishing with a career-low three points.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I told Aaron, we were going to win the game for him," said Johnson, who sank the decisive free throws late in the extra session. "We just tried to grind it out."
Brandon Taylor led Utah (17-9, 6-8) with 13 points but missed 4-of-5 from the stripe in overtime. Delon Wright and Dallin Bachynski each scored 12 points in the setback.
Bachynski capped an 8-2 Utah run early in the contest with a layup, giving the hosts their largest lead at 16-11. Arizona responded by scoring the next 14 points, including seven straight by York.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}York's corner 3 at 7:40 made it 21-16. He then stripped Taylor and coasted in for a layup, prompting a timeout. Out of the break, Jordan Loveridge missed a jumper and York finished another layup for a nine-point Arizona margin.
Hollis-Jefferson then canned a triple, just his second of the season, to give Arizona its largest lead of the first half at 35-24. Princeton Onwas' dunk moments later put the finishing touches on an eventful first half, with 'Zona guard Jordin Mayes' 3 at the buzzer getting reviewed and ultimately waived off. Arizona held a 35-26 edge at the break.
The Wildcats' advantage reached 12 points on a McConnell jumper 6:20 into the second half before Jeremy Olsen's layup sparked an 8-0 Utah spurt to pull within four.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It hovered between four and eight until 4:35, when Taylor's trey made it 52-51. Loveridge then made two free throws, putting Utah on top.
Johnson then sandwiched a Loveridge jumper with two of his own, and Loveridge split a pair at the line with 28 seconds left to knot it at 56-apiece. McConnell's runner was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
Hollis-Jefferson and Johnson carried the Wildcats in the extra period. Hollis- Jefferson scored Arizona's first six points and Johnson made 4-of-4 from the line, including two with 1.9 seconds left that resulted in the final margin.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
Arizona moved to 1-1 on its season-long three-game road trip. It travels to Colorado on Saturday ... Seven of Utah's nine losses this season have come by four points or less ... Utah's reserves outscored Arizona's, 24-15 ... The Utes have lost two in a row on the heels of a three-game winning streak.