ANAHEIM, Calif. - With 10 minutes left in the second half, UA freshman Eugene Edgerson limped on the court to spell sophomore A.J. Bramlett and his four fouls.

Even though he was hobbled by a badly sprained ankle, Edgerson, a 6-foot-6 forward, used sheer determination to out-work 6-11 Utah center Michael Doleac for a key rebound and tip-in, cutting Utah's lead to just six.

"I think I brought a lot of enthusiasm to the game," Edgerson said. "Everybody was like, 'Just play hard, we know your ankle hurts.' But that wasn't good enough for me. I couldn't let my teammates down."

Edgerson's dedication not only helped Arizona on the scoreboard, but it also sparked the team into making a 22-8 run that led to a 69-61 Wildcat victory.

"Gene is just a warrior out there. Sprained ankle and all, he still played hard," sophomore guard Jason Terry said. "You see him go out and play like that, and it makes you want to work even harder."

Edgerson, who finished with four points and four rebounds in 14 minutes, has been the unsung hero in the group of four big men. Not getting the praise, he just goes out there in clutch situations and gives Arizona a much-needed boost.

"Eugene really did some good things in that stretch in the second half," UA coach Lute Olson said. "He's not that big, but he still gets more than his share of rebounds."

There's no secret formula for Edgerson's success. He just wants the ball more than the other nine guys on the floor. That logic also carries over on the defensive side.

"When you play defense, it is basically all effort," Olson said. "I don't care how sound you are, if you're not intense, you won't be a good defensive player."

Along with Bennett Davison, Edgerson has helped Arizona neutralize some of the nation's top big men. In addition to shutting down All-America candidate Keith Van Horn, the two had also kept North Carolina's Antawn Jamison and New Mexico's Kenny Thomas in check.

In fact, Arizona's frontcourt has been so successful on defense that it is now moving in on Terry's title as defensive stoppers.

"I guess that's going to be their new role, but I don't mind," Terry said. "If we have five defensive stoppers out there, we'll be that much better."

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