TULSA, Okla. – Derrick Williams thought he was fouled on a jumper in the lane with 14 seconds left in the game. It was an air-ball. Texas got the rebound and it looked like Arizona was done.
But a five second call was issued on Texas. Arizona got the ball back without a timeout and guard Kyle Fogg found a rolling Williams for an And 1 with 9.6 seconds remaining.
Williams made the free throw, Texas’ last shot was blocked on the rebuttal, and the Wildcats will head to Anaheim to face Duke after its 70-69 victory over the Texas Longhorns Sunday, in Tulsa, Okla.
Williams struggled throughout, but scored 17 point on 4-for-14 shooting and again took Arizona over the top.
Solomon Hill and Jordin Mayes scored 16 to aide Arizona to the Sweet 16
The Longhorns scored on its first four possessions of the game, jumping out to a 8-3 lead, but a Kyle Fogg 3-pointer and Hill’s second basket of the game tied it at eight points more than three minutes into the game.
The score 12-8 in the Longhorns’ favor, Arizona went on a 11-0 run over a time span of 7:35, giving them a 19-12 lead before a dunk by UT’s Jordan Hamilton stopped the run with 8:33 before half.
Two consecutive 3-pointers by UA guard Brendon Lavender gave Arizona 28-18 lead with five minutes before halftime. In the first half, Texas’ defense, so focused on UA’s Derrick Williams, allowed the Wildcats to shoot 6-for-11 from deep.
Jordin Mayes hit his first three 3-pointers of the game, scoring 11 by halftime.
Williams only had three first-half points on 0-for-6 shooting and sat on the bench for the last minutes of the half after picking up his second foul.
The Wildcats lead the Texas Longhorns 36-25 at the halftime break. Solomon Hill led Arizona, dropping 12 points and six rebounds.
Early in the second, Hamilton tried to get his shooting going, hitting two 3s to bring the Longhorns within five points, 38-33, only two minutes into the second half.
Going back and forth from then on, Texas climbed within two points with 9:31 left, then against with 4:23 left.
They would tied the game at 65 with 3:02 to play.
Texas would take the lead shortly after, but on an essential sequence Williams scored on one free throw with two minutes left.
J’Covan Brown hit a jumper in the lane with a minute to play to give Texas a 69-67 lead
Williams shot an air-ball expecting a foul down 69-67 and with 14 seconds left, Texas had the lead and the ball, but drew a five-second count to give Arizona the ball back, where Williams scored the game winner.
