Jan. 4, 2001
Box Score
TUCSON, Ariz. - California battled 16th-ranked Arizona step-for-step in its Pac-10 opener Thursday, but the Bears did not have an answer for Wildcat forward Michael Wright as UA emerged with a hard-fought 78-75 victory at the McKale Center.
Wright scored 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the floor and added eight rebounds as Arizona improved to 8-4 overall and 1-0 in the conference. Cal, which saw its seven-game winning streak vanish, fell to 8-4 and 0-1.
As a team, the Bears shot a season-high 56.7 percent from the floor and forced 21 Arizona turnovers. However, the Wildcats used a late 11-1 run and made all 10 of their free throws in the final four minutes to pull out the victory.
In the first half, Cal used some timely three-point shooting for forge a 17-10 lead with 12:48 left. But Arizona battled back for a 20-19 advantage and eventually went up 38-32 at the break.
Coming out of intermission, Arizona extended its lead to eight points on several occasions before Cal got back into the game. Two baskets by Sean Lampley and a breakaway dunk by Joe Shipp made it 47-45 UA with 13:29 left. The Bears then tied the score at 51 on a Ryan Forehan-Kelly three-pointer.
With Cal trailing 61-60 with 6:17 remaining, Arizona center Loren Woods was whistled for his fourth foul for holding Solomon Hughes. Woods did not agree with the call, was given two technicals for his protests and ejected from the game. Shantay Legans came on to hit 3-of-4 technical foul shots and Hughes sank both his free throws to give the Bears a 65-61 advantage.
But the call seems to inspire Arizona, which outscored Cal, 11-1 over the next 4:20 for a 72-66 lead with 1:55 left. Cal did not quit and after a Forehan-Kelly three-pointer and a Lampley bucket, it was 72-71 with 36 seconds to go.
Arizona built its lead back up to four points on free throws, but Forehan-Kelly cut it to 76-75 on a leaning three-pointer with nine seconds left. However, Richard Jefferson put UA up, 78-75, on two foul shots and Brian Wethers' desperation three-pointer at the buzzer fell short.
"You have to give Arizona credit," said Cal head coach Ben Braun. "They hit the shots down the stretch they had to hit. Michael Wright, what a performance by that young man. He's a heck of a player. We just couldn't get down quick enough on him.
"I thought our guys played hard. The one thing we are always in control of is our effort. And I thought we gave effort tonight. When we were down, we battled. We made some mistakes tonight, no question. In the locker room after the game, guys were acknowledging mistakes, areas they could do better. If we can eliminate some of the mistakes, I think that will help us."
Lampley led Cal with 21 points, while Forehan-Kelly, who made 4-of-6 three-pointers, finished with 16 points. In addition, Hughes added 10 points and Shipp 11.
