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No. 4 Arizona knocks off No. 9 Texas

Thanks to some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, No. 4 Arizona held off Texas Saturday night 88-81.

Sophomore forward Richard Jefferson's eight points in a row including two consecutive three-pointers turned a 66-66 tie into a 74-68 lead with 1:29 left, but the No. 9 Longhorns wouldn't go away.

Texas pulled within 83-81, but that was the closest they ever got as Arizona hit 14-of-18 free throws in the final minute to put the game out of reach.

"That was the longest minute I've ever played in my entire life," Jefferson told The Associated Press. "Ever."

Jefferson was 0-for-1 from the floor in the first half with zero points, but was in the zone the second half, shooting 7-of-10 in the second half. Despite the fact that Jefferson was knocking down almost every shot, the Longhorns seemed to have an answer every time down the floor.

"They hit so many shots down the stretch," Jefferson said.

Texas forward Chris Owens led Texas with 19 points and 11 rebounds, followed by center Chris Mihm's 18 points.

UA junior center Loren Woods, with help from the high-low offense, kept Mihm, one of the country's top centers, out of the paint and held him to five rebounds. Mihm had a bruised shin and was in early foul trouble and saw only nine minutes of playing time in the first half.

Woods had 12 points and four rebounds.

Texas was allowed to take 79 shots, compared to Arizona's 55, in a large part because they grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. The Longhorns made 31 of those shots, or 39 percent. All six Arizona opponents have been held to under 40 percent shooting.

Freshman guard Jason Gardner finished with 18 points, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. The other freshman guard, Gilbert Arenas, was clutch at the free-throw line down the stretch, shooting 7-of-8 overall and 5-of-6 in the dying moments. He finished with 14 points.

Sophomore forward Michael Wright had his fifth double-double in six games, with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

"It just seemed like every time we got close enough, they pulled away," said Texas guard Ivan Wagner, who scored 11 points.

The win will probably knock Texas out of the top-10. Texas moved to No. 9 after defeating Michigan State last weekend at the Puerto Rico Shootout, its first appearance in the top-10 since 1982.

Perhaps the most significant part of the win in Austin was that it was played in a hostile environment. Arizona won the Preseason National Invitation Tournament at a neutral court - Madison Square Garden in New York - but hadn't faced a real raucous crowd yet. Although the crowd was about as sleepy as the one the team normally sees at McKale Center, it can still feel good about taking one from Texas on its home floor.

"We always try to play at least one game in a tough road environment before we start conference play," head coach Lute Olson said.

Arizona takes an undefeated record into the Great Eight tomorrow night against defending national champion Connecticut at the United Center in Chicago, another neutral court.