SAN DIEGO — Arizona center Christian Koloko raised his arms over his head and pumped them up and down.
After all that back and forth here Sunday at Viejas Arena, his Wildcats are going to the Sweet 16.
Barely.
First they had to force overtime with a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation. Then they had to survive a feisty TCU team that smelled blood and eventually left some of it on the floor.
Final score: 85-80.
No. 1 seed Arizona (33-3) now advances to play Houston in the next round after outscoring TCU 10-5 in the extra period, including six points from sophomore guard Bennedict Mathurin, who finished with 30 for the game. The 7-foot-1 Koloko added 28.
Arizona forced overtime after Mathurin, the Canadian star, swished a 3-point shot near the top of the arc with just under 13 seconds left to tie the score at 75. Arizona guard Dalen Terry then nearly ended the game in dramatic fashion after picking up a loose ball and jamming it in as the final buzzer of regulation sounded. But it was ruled no basket because he didn’t shoot it in time, sending the game into the extra period.
“Ben’s not afraid of the moment,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said afterward. “And he’s a special player who has an ability to rise it up another level when needed. And he has that clutch gene. I mean, I honestly felt really good when he had the ball in his hands there because I knew he was going to shoot a 3.”
Koloko scored the final basket of overtime after Mathurin missed another 3-point try….
