No. 3 Arizona battles for hard-fought win over Oregon

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Kerr Kriisa had tossed a few ugly bricks toward the rim in the minutes before his biggest shooting opportunity of the night.

Then he sized up a 25-footer as the shot clock was winding down, splashed home the 3-pointer, and the Arizona Wildcats were on their way to winning their eighth straight game.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 24 points, Kriisa hit his crucial 3 with 1:26 remaining and No. 3 Arizona beat Oregon 84-81 on Saturday.

"I’m proud of our guys for hanging in there and winning a close game," Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd said. "We haven’t had a lot of those."

It was an entertaining, high-scoring game that featured 16 lead changes in front of a sold-out crowd at the McKale Center. Kriisa’s long 3 pushed Arizona ahead 79-76, earning arguably the biggest roar of the night.

"The kid's got belief, he's got confidence," Lloyd said.

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Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin (0) reacts after scoring against Oregon during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Tucson, Ariz.  (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The Wildcats didn't trail again, hitting enough of their free throws to stave off Oregon's final charge. The Ducks had a chance to tie on their final possession but Will Richardson was called for traveling as time expired.

Azuolas Tubelis added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats, and Christian Koloko had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Arizona (24-2, 14-1 Pac-12) has a 15-game winning streak at home dating to last season. The Wildcats also snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Ducks.

"It was really fun," Mathurin said. "The crowd was going crazy. It was