‘It tastes so sweet’, Wildcats survive thrilling overtime win en route to Sweet Sixteen
Arizona wins behind Mathurin & Koloko's 58 combined points, face #5 Houston on Thursday
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The University of Arizona men's basketball team last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2018. On Sunday night, they took their #1 seed in the South Region into battle against the TCU Horned Frogs.
On the line: a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in San Antonio.
And as March Madness does, it was a game that would need extra time.
In the end of a thrilling overtime finish, it was the Wildcats surviving and advancing in an (85-80) final, rounding out a wild first weekend of the tournament.
In a turn of the tide, it was the Horned Frogs who took the momentum in the final minutes with a lead, but the magic of March came through in San Diego.
Fittingly, madness struck for the faithful in red and blue hailing from Tucson.
Down three in the final moments, the clutchest play came from the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Bennedict Mathurin, who cashed in on a deep triple to tie the game with just 14 seconds left.
The madness ensued just moments later when an Arizona turnover led to a lay-up in the open floor for Dalen Terry at the buzzer--but it was too late and called off by the officials with zeroes on the clock.
That meant one thing: overtime at the Viejas Arena.
Overtime 😅
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 21, 2022
In overtime, it was Mathurin who shined through and scored six of his 30 points in the period.
It was a phenomenal 45 minutes, in a game of runs that lasted from the opening tip to the final horn.
The Horned Frogs came out of the gates with urgency, going on an 8-0 run and keeping the Wildcats off the board until 2:30 in.
Once the Cats found their stride, it quickly became a back-and-forth affair that was heavily determined in the post on both ends.
Christian Koloko shined in the paint with his career-high 28 points and 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, one of his counterparts, Eddie Lampkin for TCU, matched his double-double and dished up 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Several and-one buckets leading to three-point plays propelled Arizona to a 39-36 lead into the halftime break.
But again, it was TCU who stormed out of the gate scoring the first four points of the second half and busting out to an 11-2 run to lead 47-41.
After multiple Horned Frog turnovers, the Cats clawed back to to tie the game and then surged back into the lead on a monstrous dunk by Arizona's leading scorer Bennedict Mathurin--sending the building into a frenzy.
DON’T DO IT TO ‘EM, BENN 🔨 @bennmathurin | #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/rFxzR1SaMS
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 21, 2022
Yet, the Frogs weren't done leaping around--going on a blistering 12-0 run to take the lead with under four minutes remaining.
Still, the Wildcats fought back and a late Tommy Lloyd timeout cashed in when the Cats picked up a big quick-hitting bucket to bring it within one.
That then leading to the Mathurin three to tie the game and carry into overtime. And the rest is history.
The 1st seeded Arizona Wildcats now gets the sweet taste of road-tripping to to the South Region Semi-Final in San Antonio on Thursday to take on the 5th seeded Houston Cougars.
Let the boys dance ‼️ pic.twitter.com/Yxw789e4b5
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 21, 2022
