Trey Townsend was called for a questionable foul with three seconds remaining leading to the game-winning free throws by Richie Saunders as Arizona loss 96-95 to BYU on Saturday night at McKale Center. Saunders backed Townsend on the right side of the post before drawing the foul when Townsend did not appear to touch him.
Both teams were elite offensively. BYU shot 55.4 percent from the field and made 14-31 three-point shots. Arizona made 54.2 percent of its shots from the floor and 10 of 22 three-point attempts. Caleb Love led all scorers with 27 points and had three rebounds and five assists.
Saunders led BYU with 23 points on 8-10 from the floor, 3-4 on three-point attempts and 4-5 from the free throw line. Each team finished with five players in double figures. Arizona overtime a four-point deficit with 41 seconds remaining to take the lead on two Love free throws with 13 seconds remaining.
Love put Arizona in position to take the lead with a three-point shot with 33 seconds left to cut the deficit to one. Dallin Hall missed the front end of the one-and-one with 19 seconds remaining to put Love in position to give Arizona the lead. It appeared Love was going to get an and-one before the two free throws to give Arizona the lead.
On Saturday night, Arizona frequently struggled to defend BYU after timeouts and at the end of the shot clock. Arizona had a 36-25 rebounding advantage, yet they were outscored 19-15 in second-chance points. BYU also had a 30-23 advantage in points off the bench and 22-10 in points off turnovers.
Arizona outscored BYU 40-36 in points in the paint and 14-4 on fast break points. BYU was in control for most of the game with the lead for 24:38 to 9:55 for Arizona. Arizona stayed in the game making 21-25 from the free-throw line to 10-14 for BYU. Tobe Awaka had another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Arizona remains home on Wednesday in a must-win versus Utah to try and secure a top-four seed and double-bye in the Big XII Tournament and remain a top-four regional seed in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona plays at Iowa State next Saturday, versus Arizona State on March 4 and is at Kansas on March 8 to finish the regular season.