National Basketball Association
Arizona 65, Florida 64
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 15, 2012
Where: McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona
Officials:
# Joe DeRosa, # Michael Irving, # Justin Van Duyne
Attendance:
14545
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 8 Arizona 65, No. 5 Florida 64: Mark Lyons hit a driving layup with seven seconds left to lift the host Wildcats to a come-from-behind win in a battle of undefeated top 10 teams.
The Gators, who turned the ball over three times in the final minute while blowing a six-point lead, could only manage a desperation 30-foot shot by Scottie Wilbekin before the final buzzer but the shot missed badly.
Solomon Hill led Arizona (8-0) with 18 points. Nick Johnson had 15 and Lyons added 14, including the contested runner to cap the Wildcats' rally from an 11-point deficit.
Mike Rosario had 16 points for the Gators (7-1), who led for virtually the entire contest. Erik Murphy finished with 15 and Wilbekin had 11 off the bench.
Florida, which had not trailed past the 15-minute mark of the first half in any game this season, built an 11-point lead and seemed to have the game in hand leading 64-58 with under a minute to play. But twice the Gators couldn't secure an inbounds pass and then star guard Kenny Boynton missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity to open the way for the Arizona comeback.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida entered the game with an average margin of victory of 25 points. The Gators defeated the Wildcats 78-72 in overtime last season. ... Florida's Will Yeguete was assessed a technical foul for hanging on the rim early in the second half and Hill made both free throws. ... Arizona freshman Kaleb Tarczewski fouled out with four points and three rebounds in 20 minutes. ... Florida has lost 15 of its last 16 road games against top 10 teams, including nine straight.
Top Game Performances
| Florida |
|
Arizona |
|
Mike Rosario 16 |
Scoring |
Solomon Hill 18 |
|
Mike Rosario 3 |
Assists |
Solomon Hill 3 |
|
Erik Murphy 7 |
Rebounds |
Kevin Parrom 4 |
|
Mike Rosario 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Solomon Hill 6 |
|
Will Yeguete 2 |
Steals |
Nick Johnson 4 |
|
Patric Young 2 |
Blocks |
Solomon Hill 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Florida
|
64 |
46.2 |
10-18 |
6-8 |
13 |
27 |
2 |
4 |
14 |
| Arizona
|
65 |
45.5 |
7-20 |
18-21 |
12 |
21 |
3 |
8 |
10 |