Arizona escapes,
gives Olson 1,000th win
No. 15 Wildcats top Utes
behind Frye's 19 points, Adams' big play
John Miller / APArizona coach Lute Olson talks to the crowd after winning his 1,000th career game, combining high school, junior college and Division I games. The Wildcats held off Utah, 67-62, on Saturday.
updated 5:24 p.m. ET Dec. 11, 2004
TUCSON, Ariz. - Lute Olson’s first coaching victory came in a tiny high school gym in Mahnomen, Minn.
Forty-seven years later, a packed house of 14,533 cheered on his 1,000th win on a court that bears Olson’s name.
Channing Frye scored 19 points despite foul trouble and Hassan Adams slammed home a rebound with 40 seconds to play, allowing 15th-ranked Arizona to escape with a 67-62 victory over Utah on Saturday.
The victory made the 70-year-old Olson the 16th coach in basketball history to achieve 1,000 victories. The wins came in 11 seasons in high school, four in junior college and 32 in NCAA Division I.
“It’s been a long haul,” Olson said. “This victory brings back a lot of memories of a lot of nice young men and outstanding assistant coaches. It provides a nice flashback to some very memorable moments.”
The latest win was no work of art, though, in a game played at the slow tempo Utah wanted.
Chris Rodgers had six points and a crucial assist in the final 3:39, including four free throws in the last 25.2 seconds. His two from the line with 2.7 seconds to go sealed the victory.
“Everybody wants the ball in those situations,” Rodgers said. “That is what you live for. You want to get those shots down in close games.”
Andrew Bogut, Utah’s 7-foot Australian center, had 20 points and 10 rebounds on 8-for-10 shooting, but was scoreless after his rebound basket put the Utes up 56-51 with 5:41 remaining.
It was a matchup of two of the West’s best post players.
“It was fun playing against a guy at my height and skill level,” Frye said. “He is very good, very talented, but I had to come out and win on my home court.”
Bogut came away unimpressed with Arizona’s half-court game, which struggled against Utah’s box-and-one defense.
“Arizona is just a bunch of athletes,” Bogut said, “and they don’t really run good sets. We were able to break those sets pretty easily.”
Arizona’s Salim Stoudamire, the team’s leading scorer at 16 points per game, was hounded by Utah’s Marc Jackson throughout the game. Stoudamire took just one shot and was scoreless in 30 minutes.
“It’s as good a defensive job as I’ve ever seen on a guy who can score like he can,” Utah coach Ray Giacoletti said.
Adams and Ivan Radenovic scored 14 apiece for Arizona (6-2). Richard Chaney scored 14 and Bryant Markson a career-best 13 for the Utes (5-3).
After Bogut’s rebound basket, Radenovic sank a 3-pointer, then Rodgers made a 15-footer from the baseline to tie it at 56. Markson’s two free throws gave Utah its last lead, 58-56, with 2:58 to play.
Rodgers penetrated the Utes’ zone, then passed to Radenovic for a layup to tie it at 58-58. Jackson missed, and Frye’s inside basket on a pass from Radenovic put Arizona ahead 60-58.
Bogut was called for an offensive foul on Utah’s next possession, and Adams’ spectacular rebound on Rodgers’ missed 3-pointer made it 62-58 with 40 seconds left.
“That’s one of my big ones,” said Adams of the latest of his many power slams for Arizona. “It had an effect on our team so much. It got everybody going. That’s what I try to do.”
The Utes still had a chance to tie it after Mustafa Shakur made one of two free throws with 9.1 seconds to play to put Arizona ahead 65-62, but Jackson’s pass to Markson sailed out of bounds.
Utah led by as many as nine points in the first half, was up 32-29 at the break and had a 53-48 advantage with 7:53 left.
Frye scored eight points early, but drew his second foul with 8:53 left and didn’t play the rest of the half.
With Frye out, Bogut scored six in an 8-0 run that put the Utes ahead 27-18 with 5:30 remaining. Arizona scored the final four points of the half to cut the lead to 32-29 at the break.
Utah was coming off a 71-45 loss at Utah State.
“After the way we played last Saturday,” Giacoletti said, “this is a step in the right direction.”
© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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