Arizona knocks California out of first place in Pac-12

BERKELEY, Calif. — Arizona and California have gone to the wire so many times of late, it's no wonder things turned testy.

Kyle Fogg hit a go-ahead 3-pointer under pressure with 1:19 to play and finished with 23 points, Jesse Perry added a key basket with 45.2 seconds left and Arizona knocked Cal out of the Pac-12 lead with a wild 78-74 victory Thursday night.

Harper Kamp scored a season-high 22 points for the Golden Bears (17-6, 7-3), who were handed their first home loss of the season at raucous Haas Pavilion a few days short of a year after the teams went to triple overtime in Arizona's 107-105 win.

The emotional win was big for the Wildcats, who had lost three of five.

"That is what you want your team to do when you are dealt a lot of blows," coach Sean Miller said. "I thought our energy was what it needed to be to have a chance to win, and fortunately, the ball bounced the right way for us, which that might have been the first time in quite a while."

Cal's Jorge Gutierrez, who scored 18 points, had to be held back from the Arizona bench with 4:46 remaining after landing hard trying to chase down a loose ball. Gutierrez could be seen yelling at Wildcats assistant coach Joe Pasternack — a former Cal assistant — and was pushed away as Arizona players stepped in to defend their side. Both head coaches came to midcourt to speak with Gutierrez.

"In his opinion one of the coaches on the other team did something he shouldn't," Cal's Mike Montgomery said.

Kamp didn't see the play, but said Gutierrez thought he had been targeted.

"He felt like Coach P said something and maybe extended his leg and tried to kick him," Kamp said.

Several police officers ran onto the court after the final buzzer as a precaution with the crowd of 9,690 especially feisty and frustrated with the officiating crew, which made a quick exit.

Arizona might have lost backup point guard Jordin Mayes for the season after re-injuring his left foot that he broke previously. An X-ray was scheduled for Friday, Miller said.

Washington is now alone atop the conference standings after rallying for a 71-69 home win against UCLA earlier Thursday.

"I look at Cal as the best team in our conference only because they have earned the right to be called that," Miller said.