LAHAINA » Arizona got the better of San Diego State on a big stage once again.
Just barely.
The Wildcats of the Pac-12 Conference had the superior late-game execution as they edged the Aztecs 61-59 Wednesday night to claim their second EA Sports Maui Invitational championship in six appearances. Arizona’s only previous Maui title came in 2000.
"I feel my team took the next step, grew up, improved, and that’s what happens when you play this type of competition," Arizona coach Sean Miller said.
A packed house of split fan bases in the 2,400-seat Lahaina Civic Center spent most of the game alternating raucous chants and cheers as their team asserted itself momentarily, only to see a marginal lead disappear.
Average athletes needn’t have applied for this one, as players scrapped and battled on the floor and leapt high in the air for all manner of hustle plays.
Tournament MVP Stanley Johnson, a true freshman, led the Wildcats with 18 points and nine rebounds. He went 9-for-10 at the free-throw line. He seemed to adapt to the college game as the tournament progressed over three days. Arizona knocked off Missouri and Kansas State to get to the title game.
"We have a lot of guys who don’t like losing here," Johnson said. "That just helps me out. I’m the same way. As they go, I go, and I think they’re doing a great job helping me out."
Forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 14 points and three blocks off the bench for Arizona (6-0).
For Steve Fisher’s Aztecs of the Mountain West, it was an all-to-familiar reminder of the lingering gap — however slight — between his program and the nation’s traditional elite.
"We thought we could win. We knew we could win. But we didn’t win," Fisher said. "Hopefully next time we’re in this type of situation with an elite team, we’ll find a way to make two or three more plays — or not make two or three of the plays we made — to be successful.
SDSU (5-1) shot 13-for-24 on free throws and had some misses late that loomed large.
Forward Winston Shepard was around for prominent losses to the Wildcats in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, the 2012 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic title game and another nonconference game in 2013.
"All of them are pretty similar," said Shepard, who led his team with 14 points. "I feel like we should have won at least three out of the last four of them."
SDSU forward Skylar Spencer missed two free throws with under two minutes to play that could have cut a four-point gap to two. Then, Aqeel Quinn missed a fallaway from the baseline with under a minute left and the Aztecs had to take fouls.
SDSU got Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell to miss on the front end of a 1-and-1, but the Aztecs turned it over in transition with 35 seconds left.
Johnson made good on his chances with 34.3 seconds left for a 57-51 lead.
Trey Kell (14 points) came back with a 3 and was fouled with 17.7 seconds left. He completed the four-point play to make it 57-55.
Johnson was clutch. He went back to the line with 13.8 seconds to go and converted both for a 4-point lead.
McConnell made two for a 61-56 lead, but Shepard hit a deep 3 with 0.9 seconds left.
Miller called timeout and the Wildcats threw a fullcourt pass to bleed the rest of the clock.
SDSU was denied its first Maui championship in three appearances.
