Bibby cool in clutch as Arizona edges College of Charleston 
 



 



Box score  

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Miles Simon scored 20 points and Mike Bibby hit two key free throws with 2.3 seconds left as fourth-seeded Arizona escaped with a 73-69 victory over 12th-seeded College of Charleston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Southeast Region at the Pyramid. 
THE GAME AT A GLANCE 
Star of the game: Arizona freshman point guard Mike Bibby scored 18 points, including two free throws that iced the game with 2.3 seconds left.

 

Key sequence: The Cougars had a chance to tie in the waning seconds after UA's Miles Simon missed the second of two free throws, but Anthony Johnson misfired on a 15-foot jumper and Bibby snared the rebound. 

What's next: Arizona: Faces Kansas in the Sweet 16 on Friday. 
Bibby finished with 18 points for the Wildcats (21-9), who will play top-seeded Kansas in the Southeast Region semifinals at Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday. Arizona had never won an NCAA Tournament game outside the West Region prior to this year. The Wildcats will be looking for payback from last year's West Region semifinals, when Kansas posted an 83-80 victory. 

"I think we're all just sick and tired of the negatives that some of you seem to have as the thing that you do," said Arizona coach Lute Olson, whose teams have been eliminated in the first round on three separate occasions since 1992 despite being seeded no lower than fifth. 

"In the last four years, there's been a Final Four and two Sweet 16s," added Olson. "That'll be difficult for some negativists to handle but take a look at the whole picture. I don't know if you want to knock people down or what, but leave these guys alone. This is two straight Sweet 16s and give them some credit." 

Stacy Harris scored 25 points for College of Charleston (29-3), which had its 23-game winning streak snapped. The Cougars had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds down 71-69, but Jermel President's 15-foot jumper from the left elbow bounced off the back of the rim. 

"I don't think on the last play we took a bad last shot," said Cougars guard Anthony Johnson. "We may have been anxious. When we had the big lead, we kind of took some bad shots. I think we went for the knockout blow instead of trying to extend the lead." 

The College of Charleston was trying to become the fifth No. 12 seed in the last six years to advance to the Sweet 16. Miami of Ohio also lost in the second round in 1995, falling to Virginia in overtime. 

"The dream season has come to an end," said Cougars coach John Kresse. "These four guys (seniors Anthony Johnson, Stacy Harris, Thaddeous Delaney and Rodney Conner) put the College of Charleston on the map with how brilliant they played. 

"It's the saddest day in my 33 years of coaching. We lost because they (the Wildcats) were physical, big and gutty down to the end. They had all the answers." 

Down 69-62 with 59.7 seconds left, the Cougars put up one last charge as Harris hit a baseline jumper and Jason Terry turned the ball over. Anthony Johnson was fouled and hit two free throws with 36.9 seconds left to make it a three-point game. 
Arizona's A. J. Bramlett gets a hand on a shot by Rodney Conner.
Bibby was fouled and made the second of two free throws to give the Wildcats a 70-66 lead with 29.8 seconds to go. But Johnson hit a three-pointer to pull College of Charleston within one point with 19.6 seconds left. Simon was fouled with 13.9 seconds left and made the first of two free throws, setting up the Cougars' last chance. 

A.J. Bramlett scored the first points of the second half to give the Wildcats a 35-34 lead, but College of Charleston ripped off eight straight points as President had a basket and Delaney had two buckets around a basket by Rodney Conner to give the Cougars a 42-35 lead at the 16:47 mark. 

A basket by Johnson gave College of Charleston a 50-41 lead with 11:48 to go, but Jason Terry scored seven straight points and Simon had a putback to knot the game, 50-50, with 9:51 left. 

Conner lifted the Cougars into their last tie of the game at 60-60 with 3:21 left, but Bibby drilled a three-pointer 23 seconds later. 

Harris hit two free throws 12 seconds thereafter, but Simon countered with a bucket and Dickerson hit a free throw and basket to give Arizona a 68-62 lead with 1:20 to play. Simon added a free throw to make it a seven-point lead with just under a minute left. 

"Everybody overlooked us," said Simon. "You watch television and read the newspapers and no one had us going anywhere. What happened in years past with the U. of Arizona has nothing to do with this team right here. We're just looking forward to Kansas next week, just get prepared for that, and maybe people will stop overlooking us."