15-point comeback falls short as UA losses 66-65

There goes the undefeated season.

A 15-point comeback with less than 6 minutes to go was not enough to overcome the play of LSU, as the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats lost for the first time this season at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.

"We didn't play with any sense of urgency for the first 33 minutes," UA head coach Lute Olson told the Arizona Wildcat Radio Network after the game. "I don't know why that was."

A pass attempt with half second left in the game from UA senior point guard Jason Gardner was knocked out of bounds as time expired. Gardner was also unable to get a shot attempt off with 13 seconds left with the Wildcats (5-1) down by a point.

UA had only 5 assists on the night.

"Our guards really struggled tonight," Olson said.

LSU (7-1) was able to control the tempo most of the game, as Arizona seemed uncomfortable and never did really get into any rhythm offensively until the end of the game. Arizona shot a season-low 33 percent from the field, and made only 4-of-22 from 3-point range.

UA and LSU have now played six times in the last 12 years with the home team winning each contest.

The Wildcats near comeback was sparked by a timeout call by LSU's Ronald Dupree, but the Tigers out of timeouts. That put sophomore guard Salim Stoudamire on the line to shoot two free throws that cut the lead to three points with 54 seconds remaining.

Freshman Andre Iguodala made a running leaner in the paint with 36 seconds left, but that would be the last points of the game.

Antonio Hudson and Jamie Lloreda led the Tigers with 20 and 19 points, respectively.

Gardner led the Wildcats offensively with 16 points and hit 4 of 8 from behind the arc. Freshman Hassan Adams finished with 15.

Arizona was without senior Luke Walton, who was out with an ankle injury. Walton, a family studies major, did attend graduation ceremonies in Tucson and was not at the game.

The Wildcats next play Davidson in the Fiesta Bowl Classic on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Walton was interviewed in the first half by commentators Dick Vitale and Dan Shulman over the phone about his graduation ceremonies...Vitale continuously mentioned how disappointed he was that the Pete Maravich Assembly Center was not full...No. 2 Alabama will likely be the new No. 1 team when the polls are released Monday.