STANFORD, Calif. – Allonzo Trier scored 21 points and hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final 18 seconds to help Arizona edge Stanford 73-71 Saturday at Maples Pavilion and take sole possession of first place in the Pac-12.
The win, Arizona's 16th straight against Stanford, moved the Wildcats to 6-1 in the Pac-12 and 16-4 overall.
Reid Travis had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Stanford, which dropped to 12-8 overall and 5-2 in the Pac-12.
Dusan Ristic added 18 points and nine rebounds for Arizona, which had star freshman Deandre Ayton available for only 28 minutes because of foul trouble. Ayton finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Wildcats were able to play with forward Rawle Alkins, who missed their win over Cal on Wednesday with soreness in his previously injured right foot. Alkins finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Wildcats held Stanford to 41-percent shooting while hitting 44.3 percent from the field but shot 10 fewer free throws in a game where a frustrated coach Sean Miller was called for a technical foul.
Although the Wildcats took an early 12-point lead, the game swung within one possession much of the second half.
Arizona held a 69-68 lead with 38 seconds left before Parker Jackson-Cartwright stole the ball from Stanford's Oscar da Silva, and the Cardinal fouled Trier. After Trier hit both free throws, Ayton fouled out when he was whistled for contacting Pickens and Pickens hit one of two free throws, leaving UA with a 71-69 lead.
Alkins was then fouled and hit the first of two free throws, putting UA ahead 72-69 with 8.3 seconds left but when Stanford tried to get off a 3-point shot, Dylan Smith fouled Pickens before he was in shooting position, and Pickens was able to take only two shots.
Pickens made both of those and then Trier was fouled with 5.0 seconds left, and missed the first of two free throws. He hit the second, giving Pickens a chance to run for another 3-point but that one bounced off the glass.
The Wildcats led 31-29 at halftime but da Silva dunked just seven seconds into the second half to tie the game, and it was tied five more times before the Cardinal went on an 11-0 run to take a 57-46 lead with 9:29 left on a 3-pointer from Pickens.
Miller was called for a technical foul toward the end of the run, apparently for riding official Tony Padilla, and he entered a timeout by striding toward Padilla to offer a few more words.
But after the timeout, UA collected itself. Three-pointers from Dylan Smith and Alkins helped UA cut Stanford’s lead to just 57-54 entering the final seven minutes and 3s from Alkins and Trier tied the game at 61 with 4:40 left before Travis kicked out the ball from the post to Dorian Pickens, who sank a 3-pointer that put the Cardinal back up 64-61 with 4:28 to go.
The game entered the final minute with Stanford leading 68-67 following a wild succession of plays: KZ Okpala hit a 10-footer to give the Cardinal a 66-63 lead and then Ayton hit a hook shot to cut it to one.
Then Parker Jackson-Cartwright stole the ball from Stanford’s Dorian Pickens at midcourt and scored to give UA a 67-66 lead. Pickens came back to score but so did Alkins, leading UA with a 69-68 lead with 38 seconds left.
In the first half, Travis had 14 points and five rebounds in the first half to help tighten up a game Arizona nearly ran away with early.
The Wildcats led by up to 12 points in the first half but led just 31-29 at halftime. Arizona shot 41.9 percent from the field and held Stanford to 35.3 percent but committed six turnovers and was outrebounded 22-18.
Stanford had eight offensive rebounds and scored seven points off of them, while UA had just three offensive boards and did not score off them.
Having been plagued by slow starts lately, with five turnovers in the first four minutes at Cal on Wednesday, the Wildcats' struggles came later Saturday. They raced to an early 17-7 lead, turning the ball over just once in the first four minutes.
Arizona went on to built its lead as high as 12 points, 29-17, when Alkins made a layup with 8:21 left in the half, before Stanford rattled off a 9-2 run to get back in the game.
With 3:45 left, Arizona was shooting 48.1 percent but was just 1 of 9 over a three-minute span late in the half while Stanford outrebounded the Wildcats 18-15 at that point.