UA defense stays strong despite Williams' 30 points

KEVIN "Superfan" KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat

UA freshman forward Dennis Latimore rises for a layup against Illinoiscenter Robert Archibald during Arizona's 87-81 win last night in McKale Center.

Talk about history repeating itself.

Last night's game between No. 7 Arizona and No. 5 Illinois bore quite a resemblance to the Wildcats' game against Kansas Saturday in McKale Center.

All the characteristics were there, again, last night.

Sloppy play and shooting. A double-digit deficit at halftime. A surge to make the game close in the second half, but an inability to get over the hump.

Only this time, instead of Arizona (4-1) experiencing this problem, it was Illinois (6-2) finding themselves unable to overcome a 16-point deficit after the first half.

UA junior point guard Jason Gardner led the Wildcats with 23 points and five assists, as the Wildcats beat their fourth top-25 team in the past five games.

"Jason's just a winner," UA head coach Lute Olson said. "The tougher it gets, the tougher he plays."

The win was the fourth against top-10 opponents in the first five games for the Wildcats, who have played what could be the most demanding early-season schedule in the country.

"Overall, this was a great win for us," Olson said. "We have a murderous schedule, and we have to play every game with exceptional effort. It will make us better."

After Arizona pushed their lead to 19 points with 15 minutes left in the game, the Fighting Illini went on a 19-6 run that cut the lead to five points with 7:31 left in the contest.

However, the Wildcats controlled the ball and Illinois was unable to make a serious run until the last minute of the game, when junior point guard Frank Williams scored 11 points in less than 30 seconds to cut the lead to four points before fouling out.

The Illini guard - who announced prior to the season that he would leave college after this season for the NBA Draft - finished the night with 30 points, with 16 points coming in the final 4:19.

KEVIN "Superfan" KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat

UA junior point guard Jason Gardner drives to the hoop during the Wildcats win against Illinois last night. Gardner finished with 23 points and five assists.

"We couldn't stop Frank Williams," Olson said. "He is a superb player and you can just see that he's a winner by the way he continues to make big shots."

Illinois dug itself into a hole in the first half by shooting 28 percent from the field and 9 percent from the three-point line, while turning over the ball 13 times.

In particular, UI shooting guard Corey Bradford, a 44 percent shooter from beyond the arc for the season, missed all five of his three-point attempts in the opening frame. He would finish the game with seven points on 3-of-15 shooting after averaging 12.6 points on 42 percent shooting from the field for the season.

Arizona claimed the lead after a 9-0 run to make the score 17-13 with 12:59 remaining. The Wildcats would lead the rest of the game.

"We came out with a fire (in the first half) that was different than the Kansas game," said junior forward Rick Anderson, who scored 18 points in the game.

After Saturday's loss to Kansas, Olson laid the blame on poor defensive effort. He said he was more satisfied with last night's performance.

"I was pleased with our defense. We created problems for them," Olson said. "We were caught off guard a few times in the second half with their high-low (offense), but we adjusted well."

Olson said he was pleased with the play of freshman forward Dennis Latimore, who had nine rebounds and two blocked shots in addition to eight points.

"Dennis has been coming on strong," Olson said. "He's made the most progress of any of the freshmen. He's going to be a heck of a player."

Olson also lauded freshman guard Will Bynum's defensive effort, something he's often criticized him for this season.

"I thought his defense was the most solid that it's been," Olson said. "He was really quick to the ball. You know that he's going to get better and better."

What made the Wildcats' early domination more impressive was the diminished presence of Gardner, who didn't hit a field goal until 14 minutes into the game. Freshman forward Isaiah Fox picked up the scoring slack for Gardner, leading the team with nine points, seven coming on free throws.

"The kid that killed us was Fox," Illinois head coach Bill Self said. "He was probably the best player in the first half."

Anderson said the team could not afford to dwell on the win, with a matchup against Purdue looming Saturday in the John R. Wooden Classic in Anaheim, Calif.

"I'm very happy (with the win)," he said. "But tomorrow I'll forget about it."