No. 19 Arizona on Saturday lost a hotly contested affair against BYU in part due to a questionable call in the game’s final seconds.
Arizona guard Caleb Love put the Wildcats up 95-94 via a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left at McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz. After a BYU timeout, the Cougars put the ball in the hands of top scorer Richie Saunders.
The BYU junior drove against Arizona forward Trey Townsend, who stayed with Saunders step for step. Saunders picked up his dribble around 12 feet from the basket. With seconds left on the clock, Saunders pivoted to his left side and put up a wild shot that went well short of the rim.
The Arizona crowd’s cheers turned into boos when they realized Townsend had been called for a foul.
Saunders calmly sank two free throws to push BYU ahead by one. The Cougars sealed the 96-95 win after Saunders intercepted the Wildcats’ inbound heave with 3.2 seconds left.
The BYU star finished with 23 points on 8/10 shooting. Saunders’ performance comes just after his 22-point outing in BYU’s 91-57 blowout win over No. 23 Kansas. The Cougars embarrassed the Jayhawks so badly that several fans were calling for Kansas coach Bill Self’s firing.
