Arizona topples Michigan State with seconds to spare

The Arizona Wildcats got nostalgic on Veterans Day.

Senior guard Kadeem Allen went coast to coast and banked in the game-winning layup with 1.9 seconds left, sending his 10th-ranked team past No. 12 Michigan State 65-63 in Game 1 of the season-opening Armed Forces Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Moments before, Spartans guard Tum Tum Nairn Jr. threw up a 3-pointer that died on the back of the iron and dramatically dropped through to tie it up with seven seconds left, thrilling the bipartisan and military-heavy crowd that nearly packed the 10,300-seat Sheriff by the end of the afternoon contest. A special hardwood floor was imported for the ESPN-televised game and U.S. Navy banners decorated the arena interior.

Arizona of the Pac-12 improved to 23-9 all-time in Hawaii, including seven wins in a row. The Wildcats took the 2012 Diamond Head Classic and 2014 Maui Invitational.

“This game reminded me a lot of the last game we had out here against San Diego State in 2012,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “Nick Johnson had an epic blocked shot against a great team. … We won the (DHC) championship (68-67) on Christmas Day. It was a thrilling last-second win. It felt the same way tonight, except we made a shot instead of a block.”

Allen, who scored 10, shot 2-for-10 before his driving bucket past the right side of the Spartans defense. It was reminiscent — it happened on the same side of the court and same spot off the window — of Hawaii point guard Roderick Bobbitt’s end-to-end scoop winner against Nevada in last season’s ESPN Tip-off Marathon game.

“With me being the senior and the leader on the team, (Miller) put a lot of faith and trust in me … getting the ball and making the play happen,” Allen said.

Freshman guard Kobi Simmons came off the bench and scored 15 of his team-high 18 points before halftime to get his team back in it after the Wildcats fell behind 17-2 at the outset. Arizona went on a 21-2 run to claim a four-point halftime lead and the teams traded high-powered blows leading up to the final heroics.

Simmons, a McDonald’s All-American, had an entertaining battle against MSU freshman Miles Bridges, who scored a game-high 21 in his college debut. Bridges threw down some jaw-dropping dunks among his 9-for-19 shooting.

“It was great,” Simmons said of their debuts. “Overall, we got the team win. He’s a great player. I don’t take anything away from him. We just came out, competed and battled.”

For Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, the Sheriff Center is still a house of horrors. The last time MSU played there, Hawaii upset his No. 4-ranked Spartans 84-62 to open the 2005-06 season.

“If I look at it big picture, I thought we outplayed them more than they outplayed us and I love their team,” Izzo said. “I think they have a good team. To compete like we did, there’s a positive in that, but we’ve got a long way to go at executing down the stretch. And that’s my fault. Just trouble adjusting to the lineups — I have to do a better job.”