Nick Johnson scored 22 points as top-ranked Arizona hung on to defeat Utah at the McKale Center on Sunday night en route to a school record 20th straight win.
Utah vs. Arizona final score: Nick Johnson shines as top-ranked Wildcats prevail, 65-56
Utah gave the Cats all they could handle in the desert, but in the end couldn’t come up with enough firepower to cool off the best team in the country.
Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
More Utes and Wildcats coverage: Block U Arizona Desert Swarm
Arizona opened things up down the stretch and mitigated a poor 21 percent shooting effort from beyond the arc by dominating the glass by a margin of 40-29.
Despite Utah's effort to keep things close, Johnson's individual effort late in the game proved to be too much for the Utes to overcome on the Wildcats' home floor. Brandon Ashley added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson contributed 10 apiece.
Delon Wright led the Utes with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists on 5-of-12 shooting. The junior star struggled to find any rhythm late as Utah shot 40 percent from the field and 4-for-13 from the three-point line.
Arizona was in control in the first half and went into the break with a 31-26 lead. Utah managed to tie the game at about the midway point of the second half, but the Wildcats forced Utah into tough looks and challenged every shot. In the end, it was Johnson who carried the team by taking over.
He also did this at the 4:07 mark to spark his teammates:
The Wildcats will test their top ranking as they travel to the Bay Area to take on Stanford on Wednesday and Cal on Saturday.
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