Inside The Wildcats

BYU stuns Arizona on controversial last-second foul call

Arizona had the game won, until the officials intervened

Ben Sherman

BYU Cougars guard Richie Saunders (15) dribbles the ball while Arizona Wildcats guard KJ Lewis (5) follows him during the first half at McKale Center.
BYU Cougars guard Richie Saunders (15) dribbles the ball while Arizona Wildcats guard KJ Lewis (5) follows him during the first half at McKale Center. / Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images
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In a wildly entertaining "Big 12 after dark" college basketball game between the Arizona Wildcats and BYU Cougars on Saturday night, the officials decided to intervene.

Trailing 95-94 with under 4 seconds left in the game, BYU forward Richie Saunders put up a desperation, off-balance four-foot airball in the lane that fell into the hands of Arizona forward Tobe Awaka as the buzzer sounded. Game over. Right?

Wrong. Lead official Tony Padilla — standing near halfcourt — called a foul on Arizona forward Trey Townsend on the play, sending Saunders to the free throw line with just over 3 seconds left. Saunders made both free throws to give BYU a stunning 96-95 road victory.

After the game, the Arizona coaches, players and fans were irate with Padilla. And rightfully so. In an exceptionally well played game, Padilla did not let the players decide the outcome. And the official with the best view — watching intently on the baseline — did not blow his whistle.

Here's the play in question:

Saunders clearly initiated the contact, and Townsend remained vertical, in a legal guarding position. It was a flop, at best. It's a baffling call, especially from Padilla's vantage point.

"It's a bad call. I mean like, whatever. What am i going to say. You hate for a game to be decided by that," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said after the game. "Trey (Townsend), I feel horrible for him. The guy didn't play in the second half. I tightened the rotation."

"He played good defense. The guy's pivoting, pivoting, pivoting, throws his shoulder into him, throws up a shot and falls down. It's a foul with two seconds to go. I mean listen, it's the Big 12. That's what I'm told. And the guy who called it is one of the best refs. So we've got to live with it."

Here's another angle of the play:

Arizona now 3 games behind Houston

The loss all but eliminates Arizona (18-9, 12-4) from Big 12 title contention, dropping them three games behind Houston (23-4, 15-1) with four to play. But the bigger issue for Arizona is that BYU (19-8, 10-6) is now just two games behind the Wildcats for the fourth seed in the Big 12 Tournament. The top four seeds receive byes into the quarterfinals.

The Wildcats are now tied with Texas Tech (21-6, 12-4) for second place. Iowa State (21-6, 11-5) is all alone in third place, one game ahead of BYU.

Arizona has a brutal finishing stretch, with games at Iowa State and at Kansas. It's not out of the realm of possibility that all four teams — Arizona, BYU, Texas Tech, Iowa State — could finish tied for second in the Big 12 at 14-6. That would result in a tiebreaker scenario to determine the top four seeds in the Big 12 Tournament.

Arizona breaks out of shooting slump

After shooting 11-of-63 (17.4%) from the 3-point line over the last three games, the Wildcats lit it up against BYU. Led by Caleb Love (4-of-9) and Anthony Dell'Orso (3-of-5) Arizona shot 10-of-22 from downtown — their highest percentage since an 81-70 win over Baylor on Jan. 14.

Love led five Arizona players in double figures with a game-high 27 points. Tobe Awaka had 14 points and 10 rebounds, KJ Lewis had 13 points and 5 assists and Henri Veesaar had 12 points and 5 rebounds. Dell'Orso finished with 11 points and 4 assists.

Saunders led BYU with 23 points. The Cougars shot a blistering 14-of-31 from downtown.

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Ben Sherman
BEN SHERMAN

Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.

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