, Max Hazzard scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and Zeke Nnaji added 13 points and seven rebounds for Arizona.The Wildcats made 10 more free throws than the Beavers (15-11, 5-9), with help from three technical fouls against Oregon State.“They shot 15 free throws and we shot 28," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “It was about our aggressiveness.”Oregon State also committed 21 turnovers to lose for the third time in five games.The Beavers lost leading scorer Tres Tinkle to his second technical foul for a high elbow with 13:17 remaining and Arizona up 52-40. Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle, Tres' father, was assessed a technical moments later.Wayne Tinkle didn't expect his son to lose his composure.“That was uncharacteristic,” Wayne Tinkle said. “But I tell you what, he's been ridden like American Pharaoh all of the stinkin' league (season). And he's got to be better. He's got to play through that, but I've told people that if the way the game is being called isn't changed, then something silly is going to happen. It's very unfortunate. He's not that kind of player. He's got to keep his head about him." After the technicals, the Wildcats took control with a 12-3 run to cruise to victory. The Wildcats won for the sixth time in seven games and are tied for second place in the conference.Arizona avenged an 82-65 loss at Oregon State earlier in the season.“It wasn't something we talked about, but I think as a group, we kind of had that in mind," Mannion said. “We owed them one.”Jarod Lucas scored 18 points and Kylor Kelley added 14 points and eight rebounds for Oregon State. Tinkle entered the night averaging 18.3 points per contest, but he was held to 10.The Beavers turned the ball over four times in the first four minutes. A steal and dunk from Green gave the Wildcats a 10-2 lead at the 16:01 mark.“My main goal coming into the game was just try my hardest on defense, bring energy to the team and do all the dirty work and energize,” said Green, who had four steals.Oregon State went almost five minutes between baskets early in the game, but trimmed an 11-point deficit to 19-15 on a layup by Ethan Thompson with 9:33 to go.Christian Koloko’s dunk out of a timeout gave Arizona a 35-22 lead, the Wildcats’ largest lead of the first half. Green scored 13 points before the break to give Arizona a 40-30 lead. Nnaji’s two free throws with 15:34 left gave Arizona a 47-34 lead early in the second half, and the Wildcats maintained control from there.BIG PICTUREOregon State: Plenty of observers felt the Beavers had the experience and talent to be an NCAA tournament team this season, but they will have to go on an epic run in February and March to get in. The opportunity is there for a strong regular season finish, with games at No. 14 Oregon, whom the Beavers beat once this season, and at home against struggling Stanford and California, before the Pac-12 Tournament.Arizona: The Wildcats are right in the thick of the regular season title race, with a home game against Oregon - which fell at Arizona State Thursday - and home games against Washington State and Washington to end the regular season.HIGHLIGHT REELMiller singled out freshman center Koloko for his play - five points and three blocked shots in 10 minutes. Soon after Tres Tinkle was ejected, Koloko swatted away a shot from Thompson, which led to Hazzard's driving layup at other end for 56-40 lead.UP NEXTOregon State: Heads north to face Arizona State Saturday night in Tempe, Ariz. The Beavers lost at home to the Sun Devils 82-76 on January 9.Arizona: The Wildcats get a chance to atone for a 74-73 overtime loss at Oregon last month when they face the Ducks at home Saturday night.---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Feb 19, 2020No. 24 Arizona is a half-game out of the Pac-12 lead as it enters what some might see as a revenge homestand.The Wildcats (18-7, 8-4) were swept on the road last month at the Oregon schools; now they host the pair in Tucson this week, starting with Oregon State (15-10, 5-8) on Thursday night.The Beavers blitzed Arizona late in the first meeting, turning a five-point lead at the midway point of the second half into an 82-65 victory in Corvallis. Arizona coach Sean Miller is focusing on improvement as a better motivation than payback."Somebody told me a long time ago that revenge kills you," Miller said. "You start thinking in those terms, it's not healthy in any way, shape or form. For us, especially as the calendar turns to late February, we just want to play well." Arizona did play well last week, sweeping Cal and Stanford on the road, although it didn't shoot well. Better 3-point shooting could be the boost the Wildcats need in the final six regular-season games to get a league title.They have shot 24 of 100 from beyond the arc in the past five games.Miller credited improving defense for last week's road sweep."We outrebounded Stanford. We took care of the ball, especially at Cal. And we were able to leave with two good road wins," he said. "This week, my hope is we can be a more efficient, better shooting team against both Oregon State and Oregon." Much of that attention in that area will be on Wildcats point guard Nico Mannion, who leads the nation's freshman in assists (5.3 per game) but is 15 of 57 from the field, including 4 from 23 from behind the arc, in the past five games."It's just a matter of time before Nico breaks through," Miller said. "He can't let what has happened over the last game or the last shot affect the shot he's taking, or the next game or the next week." The Beavers have four Quad 1 victories -- one more than Arizona -- winning at Colorado and Stanford, and beating Arizona and Oregon at home. They have one of the best stat-stuffers in the nation in Tres Tinkle (18.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals) and another all-conference candidate in Ethan Thompson (15.1 points, 4.2 assists).Tinkle set a school record in Saturday night's 69-47 home loss to Colorado by reaching double-digit points in his 90th consecutive game.Tinkle and Thompson didn't get enough help against the Buffaloes as the rest of the team combined for just 20 points."Didn't see it coming," coach Wayne Tinkle said. "For whatever reason, we didn't scrap like we have been scrapping, didn't put up the fight we thought we would. ... We have to admit it. It was a woodshed job. We just didn't have enough people trying to respond and battle back."All we need to do now is get ourselves better the next couple days, prepare for our next opponent, and make sure we're that much more ready to go after it." Tinkle and Thompson combined for 38 points in the first meeting against Arizona, when the Beavers got needed contributions from others, including three teammates who were in double figures. Oregon State made 27 of 50 shots in that game, often succeeding on drives to the basket.--Field Level Media
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