ANAHEIM, Calif. - Nick Johnson scored all of his 15 points in the last 2:45, after missing his first 10 shots, and Arizona rallied to beat San Diego State 70-64 Thursday night and advance to the final eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 15 points each for the top-seeded Wildcats (33-4). They will play Wisconsin in the West Regional final Saturday.
Xavier Thames scored 25 points and Dwayne Polee added 13 points for the Aztecs (31-5). Those two tried to bail out SDSU in the final minute, with each hitting three-pointers, before Thames’ basket cut the deficit to 65-61 with 38 seconds left.
The drama wasn’t over yet in a game featuring tenacious defense and rabid intensity by both teams.
SDSU was called for a 10-second violation, and the Wildcats regained the ball. Johnson was fouled and made both for a 67-61 lead with 26 seconds to go, but Thames was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three shots to leave SDSU trailing 67-64.
The Aztecs had Johnson trapped near their bench, but he passed out of the double team and Gabe York was fouled at the other end. He missed the first and made the second, keeping Arizona ahead 68-64. Thames missed, and Johnson went to the line again where he ended the scoring with two free throws.
Hollis-Jefferson fouled out with 4:42 to play, but Johnson made his first basket a couple minutes later and carried the Wildcats late.
Arizona Coach Sean Miller joined his brother Archie in the final eight. The younger Miller coached Dayton to an 82-72 victory over Stanford of the Pac-12 in the South Regional semifinals.
The Aztecs outrebounded the Wildcats 37-29. Josh Davis had 14 rebounds for San Diego State.
Johnson, the Pac-12 player of the year, finished 2 of 12 from the field but made all 10 of his free throws.
Sports, Pages 20 on 03/28/2014