Arizona Basketball escapes in ‘Dog Fight’ with Washington

TUCSON, AZ – It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win nonetheless for Arizona Basketball (17-8, 11-8) as they came away with the 75-74 win over Washington. 

James Akinjo scored a career-high 26 points and dished out seven assists, while Azoulas Tubelis finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds as Arizona Basketball came away with the 75-74 win over Washington.

It may not have been the prettiest game, but in a season where the Wildcats have seen and overcome a lot of adversity, the win still counts the same.

Arizona Wildcats

In a game that seemingly went back and forth the entire second half, luckily, it was the Wildcats who benefitted as Tubelis came up big down the stretch.

With the Huskies leading 74-73 with 15 seconds to go, Akinjo found Tubelis in the corner where he hit the go-ahead jumper with just over five seconds to play, giving the Wildcats the lead and eventual win.

From the start, it wasn’t Arizona’s day, as the team opened the half just shooting 28.9 percent, however, the Wildcats did find a bit of a rhythm to end the half, pulling ahead by four at the break at 33-29.

A better shooting second half helps to spark Arizona Basketball in their thrilling win over the Washington Huskies.

Opening the half with on an 8-2 run, Washington would pull ahead by two early in the second half, but luckily for us, the Wildcats would begin to find their offensive rhythm, pulling out to an eight-point lead a 45-37 just a few minutes later.

Unfortunately, as we all saw throughout the second half, it is that no matter how much the Wildcats pulled out ahead, the Huskies would respond in a subsequent fashion.

Leading 66-61 with 6:14 to play, it seemed like the Wildcats were firmly in control, but the Huskies bounced right back, tying the game at 69, even pulling ahead at 72-70 with 1:24 to play.

In crunch time, which typically hasn’t been friendly to the Wildcats in recent memory, Arizona would make the key plays down the stretch. First, it was Akinjo who would hit the go-ahead three to put Arizona ahead at 73-72, then it was Tubelis who hit the game-winning shot for the second time this year (his other coming against ASU in Tempe).

Key Takeaways: 

• Wildcats win their first ‘Senior-Day’ game since 2018 against Cal.
• Arizona came away with the win despite shooting just 36.5 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three.
• Tubelis scored yet another double-double on the season.

With the win, Arizona improves to 17-8 (11-8) on the year and will look to end their season on a high as the Wildcats will travel to Eugene, OR to take on the Ducks. Listen to head coach Sean Miller following the teams’ win.