Tips & Tricks » win. Melky Cabrera had three hits, one

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Nick Johnson put an awful first half behind him and came up big for Arizona in the final 2:45. The Pac-12 player of the year scored all of his 15 points over that span after missing his first 10 shots, and helped Arizona hold off San Diego State 70-64 on Thursday night to reach the final eight of the NCAA tournament. "When I hit one shot it just started to feel a little bit better," he said. "I just kept on hitting shots." Mostly, Johnson hit free throws, making all 10 of his attempts to go with a field goal and a 3-pointer after the Aztecs shut him down for the first 37 minutes. "He just exploded in the second half," said San Diego States Dwayne Polee, who guarded Johnson. "I cant say that we didnt play hard defence, but he just made a lot of good shots." Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 15 points each for the top-seeded Wildcats (33-4), who will try to win a West Regional final for the first time in Anaheim. Theyre 0-3 at Honda Center going into Saturdays game against second-seeded Wisconsin (29-7). Arizona coach Sean Miller joined his brother Archie in the final eight. The younger Miller coached Dayton to an 82-72 victory over Stanford of the Pac-12 in the South Regional semifinals. "We watched the game in our locker room," Miller said. "The fact that two of us are in the Elite Eight is a very unique situation, but well see." Xavier Thames scored 25 points and Dwayne Polee added 13 points for the Aztecs (31-5). Those two tried to bail out SDSU in the final minute, each hitting 3-pointers before Thames basket cut the deficit to 65-61 with 38 seconds left. The drama wasnt over yet in a game featuring tenacious defence and rabid intensity by both teams. SDSU got called for a 10-second violation, and the Wildcats regained the ball. Johnson got fouled and made both for a 67-61 lead with 26 seconds to go. Thames got fouled on a 3-point attempt, and he sank all three shots to leave SDSU trailing 67-64. The Aztecs had Johnson trapped near their bench, but he passed out of the double team and Gabe York got fouled at the other end. He missed the first and made the second, keeping Arizona ahead 68-64. Thames missed, and Johnson went to the line again where he ended the scoring with two free throws. San Diego State led by eight points early in the second half after leading by that many just before halftime. The Aztecs controlled the boards 37-29, with three of them often battling at once on the defensive end. Josh Davis had 14 rebounds for SDSU. The Aztecs were trying to reach the final eight for the first time in school history under 69-year-old coach Steve Fisher. "One of these days were going to get to a Final Four," Fisher said. Johnsons 2 of 12 shooting wasnt the Wildcats only problem. Kaleb Tarczewski returned late in the game with four fouls and Hollis-Jefferson fouled out with 4:42 to play. But Johnson made his first basket a couple minutes later and carried the Wildcats across the finish line after they trailed much of the second half. "Its amazing for a kid to be able to do that after not making shots for about 25, 30 straight minutes," Miller said. T.J. McConnells layup gave Arizona its first lead, 50-49, of the second half after the Wildcats got within one three times. SDSU answered with baskets the first two times, but couldnt stop McConnell, who finished with 11 points. The Wildcats started getting some of the offensive rebounds that eluded them much of the game, and Tarczewski scored after his teammates grabbed two on the same possession to keep Arizona ahead 54-51. Polees defence helped keep Johnson scoreless in the first half, when he went 0 for 7 and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. He finally hit a jumper at the buzzer, but typical of Arizonas early luck, it was ruled no good. Tarczewski picked up his third foul with 5:13 to go, leaving the Wildcats without their 7-footer to protect the basket. Bobby Evans Rams Jersey . LOUIS -- The St. Nolan Cromwell Youth Jersey . - Urijah (The California Kid) Faber finds himself in an unaccustomed position Saturday night at UFC 175 — on the preliminary card. http://www.laramsfootballshops.com/deacon-jones-jersey/ . - Florida State has suspended Jameis Winston for the entire game against Clemson on Saturday, extending its initial punishment of one half after the quarterback made offensive and vulgar comments about female anatomy earlier this week. Eric Dickerson Rams Jersey . Pekovic had an MRI test Tuesday on his right ankle that revealed bursitis, which is inflammation of the fluid-filled pad that cushions the joint. Tyler Higbee Womens Jersey . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson.DETROIT - The streaking Toronto Blue Jays will have their work cut out for them if they want to complete a sweep of the Tigers, as they face Justin Verlander in todays matinee finale of a three-game series in Detroit. The Blue Jays will not have Edwin Encarnacion in their starting line-up. The slugger left Wednesday nights game in the ninth inning with tightness in his back. The right-handed Verlander is coming off a 6-3 win over the hosting Seattle Mariners on Friday, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk over 7 2/3 innings. It was his longest outing since going eight frames on April 6, and his seven strikeouts against the Mariners was his highest total since also fanning seven on May 4 at Kansas City. Verlander is 6-4 with a 3.99 earned run average on the year and 3-2 lifetime against the Blue Jays with a 4.02 ERA. Toronto left-hander J.A. Happ will make his seventh start of the year and had won three straight outings before a 6-1 loss to the Royals on Friday. It was an odd game for Happ, who logged a season-high 7 2/3 innings, but also yielded a 2014-worst six runs on nine hits and two walks. Happ, 31, dipped to 4-2 with a 4.10 ERA in nine total appearances on the season and will face the Tigers for the third time in his career and for the second time as a starter. He has held them to a run over 9 1/3 innings without a decision, striking out eight..dddddddddddd. The red-hot Blue Jays are looking to sweep the Tigers for the first time since April 5-7, 2004 and won their fourth straight overall with last nights 8-2 win. Melky Cabrera had three hits, one a homer, and three runs scored, while Jose Bautista also chipped in with three hits and a pair of RBI. Adam Lind drove in three runs in his clubs 13th victory in 15 games. R.A. Dickey (6-4) gave up both runs on seven hits and four walks in five-plus innings, while four relievers combined to yield zero hits the rest of the way. That includes Aaron Loup, who took over in the sixth inning for Dickey after he had yielded a pair of walks around a single to load the bases with nobody out. However, Loup fanned J.D. Martinez and then induced weak pop flies in foul territory to both Rajai Davis and Ian Kinsler. "Tonight, I guess was one of those lucky nights where you kind of pull a rabbit out of your hat," said Loup. "Usually you dont get out of situations like that." Miguel Cabrera and Kinsler had solo homers to produce the two Detroit runs, while Rick Porcello (8-3) was charged with three runs on six hits over seven innings. "We had some opportunities. We were unable to come up with the big hit tonight," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. The Tigers have lost four straight. ' ' '