The crowd of 14,591 in McKale Center grew nervously silent. As teammates on the court looked away, and the ones on the bench clutched their arms together, Arizona guard Kyle Fogg stood alone to shoot the most important free throws of his life.
After being fouled on a 3-point attempt with .2 seconds on the clock and Arizona down 68-71, it was up to Fogg to knock down three straight free throws to send the game to overtime.
“”I wish I could tell you I got ice water going through my veins,”” Fogg said, partly joking when asked how he felt stepping up to shoot the pressure free throws. “”But man I was shaking, especially with this being Nic (Wise’s) last game at home, and I didn’t want him to go out like that.
“”It’s a great feeling, especially that we went to double overtime to get the win,”” he added.
Fogg knocked each free throw as USC players made several attempts to rattle the sophomore guard.
“”Yeah man, they were trying to get me rattled and pushing me around and stuff,”” Fogg said.
In contrast, Fogg’s teammates left him alone during the time leading up to the pressure-packed free throws.
“”I was looking, searching for help and my teammates were putting their heads down, as if to say you better not miss,”” Fogg said.
But his teammates insisted that they were doing other things during that time.
“”We were praying for him,”” Wise said.
After Fogg knocked down the third free throw, McKale Center went crazy and his teammates huddled around him in celebration.
“”It felt like the world coming off my shoulders, and I knew we could win it from there,”” Fogg said. “”Nic told me, ‘We got this, we got this. Keep playing hard we’ll finish it off.'””
After the game, Arizona head coach Sean Miller called Fogg’s trip to the free throw line the most pressurized situation in all of sports.
“”That is the most pressure-packed situation you can ever have,”” Miller said. “”That one is the putt at the Masters at about 10 feet away; it’s not for everyone. Give Kyle (Fogg) tremendous credit he gave us a chance to win the game.””
Horne bounces back after being benched
A game after being taken out of the starting lineup against UCLA, forward Jamelle Horne bounced back with 16 points and eight rebounds in the win against USC.
“”We’re a much better a team when he plays with the energy he played with (Saturday),”” Miller said. “”He really was active. That’s the Jamelle Horne that makes our team so much better.””
In the first half, when the Wildcats were down by as many as 11 points, it was Horne who kept the game close with his 11 first-half points.
The Wildcats were down 32-21 with 5:26 remaining in the first half, and Horne seemed to take over scoring 10 points, bringing Arizona within five as the Wildcats trailed 38-33 at halftime.
“”It’s just the point in the season, it’s at the end where you want to finish strong as a player for yourself and your teammates,”” Horne said. “”Shots went down and my teammates continued to try to find me.””
“”Most importantly,”” he added, “”that three-game winning streak is great to be a part of.””
