Arizona tops Utah in overtime to stay unbeaten in Pac-12

The Arizona Wildcats outlasted the Utah Utes 84-81 in overtime on Saturday to complete the sweep of the Rocky Mountain schools.

The Wildcats (11-4) improve to 2-0 in the Pac-12. Utah (9-5) falls to 1-1.

Chase Jeter led the way for Arizona with 21 points and 13 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season. Utah’s Sedrick Barefield scorched the Wildcats for 26 points on 17 shots, but fouled out with 1:44 left in regulation.

Jeter split a pair of free throws to put Arizona up four with 2:45 left in overtime, but Utah quickly knotted things up at 78. Brandon Williams made with two free throws to put UA back up by two with 1:33 left, answered immediately by Donnie Tillman who drove for an and-one to give the Utes an 81-80 lead with 1:12 left in OT.

Brandon Randolph, who had 15 points on 15 shots, banked in a runner to put Arizona back ahead and Ryan Luther forced a jump ball with 34.4 seconds left, the possession arrow favoring the Wildcats.

Williams was fouled after receiving the ensuing inbounds pass, but clanked both free throws. Utah’s Parker Van Dyke launched a deep 3 that would have been the game-winner, but it rimmed out. Randolph collected the rebound and calmly sank two free throws to extend the lead to three with 1.6 seconds left.

Van Dyke’s 60-foot heave at the buzzer fell well short.

Arizona, which shot 50.9 percent, hoisted 11 free throws in OT and 30 for the game, making 23 of them. The Utes shot 56.6 percent, going 11 for 21 from 3.

There were 15 ties and 12 lead changes.

Knotted at 72, Justin Coleman missed an off-balance jumper with 24 seconds left in regulation then Utah’s Timmy Allen fumbled an entry pass on the ensuing possession, setting up one final look for the Wildcats with 5.3 seconds to spare.

Coleman raced up the floor but stuttered before pulling up just beyond mid-court. His shot clanged off the front iron, sending the game to OT.

Arizona largest lead came at the 11:59 mark in the second half after Luther, Dylan Smith and Williams combined for four triples in a three-minute span.

However, the Wildcats could not get enough stops to pull away, a recurring theme throughout the day.

After Smith’s 3 put UA up six, Allen drove for two layups and Tillman made two 3s to put the Utes up 61-60 with 8:53 left. Barefield sank his fifth 3 of the game to make it a four-point Utah advantage and Tillman made two free throws to put Utah up six with 5:32 left.

Jeter scored twice underneath to cut Arizona’s deficit to two, including a thunderous dunk off a nifty bounce pass from Coleman, who had three assists in his return to the starting lineup.

Barefield then picked up his fourth foul on a drive by Coleman, who split a pair of free throws to cut Utah’s lead to 68-67. The momentum was shifting in Arizona’s favor, culminating when the Wildcats played their best defense of the day by forcing a shot-clock violation.

But Barefield quieted the crowd on the next possession by finding a rolling Jayce Johnson for an easy slam to put Utah up 70-67.

Randolph made two free-throws then Williams added two more to give Arizona the lead after drawing Barefield’s fifth and final foul.

Allen made two free throws with Barefield on the bench and Luther split a one-and-one to tie it at 72 with 1:06 left, the final points of regulation.

Utah, which shot 53 percent from 3 in its win over ASU on Thursday, stayed hot early and never really cooled down, jumping out to a 20-10 lead after back-to-back 3s by Barefield and Both Gach.

Arizona answered with a 9-0 run, capped by a Smith corner 3 after a clever feed from Coleman in transition. Smith added another 3 — this time from the top of the arc off a kick-out from Jeter — to tie it at 26 with 5:23 left in the half.

Smith, who had eight first-half points and 11 overall, returned the favor, bouncing a wraparound pass to Jeter for a layup to give UA a 34-33 lead. Jeter scored again to give UA a three-point advantage, but Barefield drained his fourth 3 of the half to knot it at 36 heading into the locker room.

Barefield had 19 first-half points on just nine shots, building off the 24-point outing he posted at ASU.

Utah shot 61 percent in the first half to Arizona’s 56.

The Wildcats finished with the advantages in rebounding (27-20), points in the paint (36-30) and turnovers (11-14).

This story will be updated.

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