By Ryan Schneider

Arizona Daily Wildcat

CHARLOTTE, N.C._The game was so intensely played that the celebration began with only a little over a minute left. Players hugged and leapt and chanted and cheered while a group of Wildcats set tearful gazes on party they were no longer invited to.

President Bill Clinton left Charlotte Coliseum a happy man on Saturday, but cardinal and blue sweater-wearers left heartbroken. The end of the road came early for the Arizona basketball team, one stop short of history.

"I can't believe it's all over," said a red-eyed Kevin Flanagan of his last game as a Wildcat. "Five years just comes to a halt."

A bigger, deeper and fresher Arkansas squad halted Arizona's bid to become the first UA team to reach tonight's national championship game of the NCAA Tournament with a 91-82 win before 23,674 here_instead it was the Razorbacks who will play for the title for the first time in their school's history.

Following the game, words were hard to come by in the UA locker room. Tears, unfortunately, were not. Sophomore center Joseph Blair (eight points and 14 rebounds), normally the ringleader of a rambunctious bunch of Wildcats, was frightfully quiet. His blank stare was fixed on disappointment and failure.

"It's frustrating to know we had such a great year," Blair began. "and for it to end like this..."

He did not finish the sentence. He just could not do it.

UA guard Reggie Geary found it difficult to say goodbye to Arizona's joyride season, as well. Minutes after the loss, Geary wanted more of the Razorbacks even though he said exhaustion was finally starting to creep into his muscular legs after shadowing Arkansas guard Scott Thurman all game long.

"I wish this was the NBA and we could have six more games with these guys," said Geary, adding that a Saturday doubleheader with Arkansas would have been fine with him.

The sophomore then stopped his next thought midway through when somebody asked him if Arizona could beat these mighty Razorbacks in a best-of-five series. The response was

"Maybe not, but at least we would have another shot at it," he said. Read Next Article