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Arizona tops SDSU to win Maui title

Nov 27, 2014 - 6:19 AM Maui, HI (SportsNetwork.com) - Another nip-and-tuck affair went to Arizona.

Stanley Johnson had 18 points and nine rebounds as the No. 3 Wildcats defeated 15th-ranked San Diego State 61-59 in the Maui Invitational championship game.

Trey Kell's four-point play pulled the Aztecs within 57-55 with 17 seconds left, but Johnson knocked down a pair of foul shots at the other end.

J.J. O'Brien split two free throws with five ticks left at the other end and T.J. McConnell drained two bonus shots to seal the outcome.

These two non-conference opponents met for the fifth time in the last four seasons and the Wildcats (6-0) have won the last four by a combined 18 points.

San Diego State (5-1) has won 32 of its last 37 against non-conference foes, with four of those five losses coming against Arizona.

Neither team led by more than six points in this one.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson posted 14 points and six rebounds, while McConnell added 11 points for Arizona, which became the sixth team to win the Maui Invitational multiple times.

The Wildcats last won the tournament in 2000.

Winston Shepard tallied 14 points and six rebounds and Kell also provided 14 points for the Aztecs.

Arizona didn't lead by more than four until the final minute.

Angelo Chol's layup staked the Aztecs to a 48-47 edge with 9:15 left before Arizona seized control with a 10-3 run and held SDSU without a point for 5:42 following the Chol bucket.

McConnell jump-started the surge with a deep left wing 3-pointer and two Johnson free throws capped it to give Arizona a 57-51 lead with 34 seconds to go.

Earlier, the Aztecs raced out to a 10-4 start less than five minutes in, but Arizona closed the opening half on an 8-2 spurt and took a 32-31 edge into the locker room.

Game Notes

Duke has the most Maui Invitational Tournament titles with five ... The Wildcats scored 22 points off 14 San Diego State turnovers ... Arizona shot 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the floor, while SDSU finished 43.8 percent (21- of-48) from the field.