Arizona defeats No. 4 Gonzaga 69-64

[December 15, 2008]  PHOENIX (AP) -- Nic Wise scored 21 points, including three free throws in the final 31 seconds, and Arizona upset No. 4 Gonzaga 69-64 on Sunday.

Jordan Hill added 22 points and Chase Budinger had 14 for the Wildcats (7-2), who beat a team ranked in the top four for the first time since Nov. 8, 2001, when they beat No. 2 Maryland.

The Wildcats, who led most of the game, outscored Gonzaga 7-2 over the last 2:25, with Hill and Wise scoring all their points.

Austin Daye had 22 points and Matt Bouldin added 14 for the Bulldogs (7-1).

The second half was played with the fury of an NCAA tournament game.

Hill broke a 62-62 tie with two free throws with 1:17 to go, then hit a 4-footer over Josh Heytvelt to put the Wildcats up 66-62 with 36 seconds left.

Bouldin scored on a layup, then Wise iced the game at the free throw line, going 3-of-4 down the stretch.

The Bulldogs seemed to unravel in the clutch, with a spate of turnovers in the final 2 minutes.

This was Gonzaga's second straight game against a Pac-10 opponent. But after blitzing Washington State 74-52 at Pullman on Wednesday night, the Bulldogs struggled to cope with Arizona's athleticism.

They also had to deal with a pro-Arizona crowd at "neutral" U.S. Airways Center, home of the Phoenix Suns. The arena is only about 90 miles from Arizona's campus in Tucson.

Arizona and Gonzaga met for only the third time -- and the first since the top-seeded Wildcats held off the Bulldogs in a double-overtime thriller in the NCAA's second round in 2003.

Gonzaga hopes this is the first of two trips to Arizona this season. The Bulldogs may return in March, when the NCAA West Regional will be staged in nearby Glendale.

The Wildcats took a 35-34 lead at halftime as both teams shot 46.4 percent from the field (13-of-28).

The game was the second half of a doubleheader. No. 20 Arizona State held off IUPUI 59-58 in overtime in the opener.

[Associated Press; By ANDREW BAGNATO]

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