Gabe York's late 3-pointer finishes Arizona's comeback win over Cal
Too often in Pac-12 play this season, Arizona has asked Gabe York to come to its rescue by attacking off the dribble in the final seconds.
On Thursday night, the Wildcats instead wisely played to the senior shooting guard's catch-and-shoot strengths with better results.
With Arizona trailing by two in the final 30 seconds against Cal, York freed himself running around a pair of baseline screens and caught a pass from Kadeem Allen with just enough space to attempt a shot. York's right-wing 3-pointer gave Arizona a one-point lead and paved the way for the Wildcats to eke out a critical 64-61 victory.
Rallying to beat Cal was especially satisfying for Arizona because for awhile it looked like the Wildcats were headed for their second home loss of the season. The Bears led by eight with less than two minutes to play, but they never scored again, frittering away the possession before York's 3-pointer on an offensive foul by Jaylen Brown and the possession afterward on a drive to nowhere by senior Tyrone Wallace.
Arizona's victory will bolster an NCAA tournament profile that appeared surprisingly lean entering the week. The Wildcats (23-7, 11-6) are solidly in the field of 68 of course, but their seeding would have suffered had their most notable win been either a home victory over USC or a road victory over Gonzaga.
Now they've beaten a Cal team playing its best basketball this season in March. The Bears (21-9, 11-6) had won seven straight prior to Thursday night thanks in part to the return of Tyrone Wallace from injury and huge contributions from Jabari Bird, Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown.
Arizona never would have beaten Cal without York, who fittingly starred on Senior Night. All 19 points York scored came in the second half including a pair of huge last-minute 3-pointers.
That York has become a go-to option for Arizona reflects some of the issues this year's Wildcats have. They lack an elite point guard or combo guard like Nick Johnson or T.J. McConnell, which often leads Miller to turn to York to create off dribble in late- clock scenarios.
It happened late in quadruple overtime at USC on Jan. 9, and it resulted in a near turnover and an off-target last-gasp 3-pointer. It happened again two weeks later at Cal, and York dribbled the ball off his foot before recovering in time to miss a contested runner at the buzzer. It happened a third time last month at Colorado, and York lost his dribble out of bounds.
Miller called York's number once again Thursday night but this time he set it up differently. This time it was catch-and-shoot. This time York delivered.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
