SALT LAKE CITY -- Strong defence has saved Arizona in several games this season. It was no different against a determined underdog in a tough environment on the road. Gabe York and Nick Johnson each scored 15 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 13 and the fourth-ranked Wildcats escaped with a 67-63 overtime victory against Utah on Wednesday night. Arizona held the Utes to one field goal over the final 5 minutes and forced a critical turnover in the closing seconds. "We just had to buckle down," Johnson said. "We had to buckle down on defence. We had to rebound. They were really getting us on the offensive rebounds." The score was tied at 58 before Hollis-Jefferson made two baskets to give the Wildcats a four-point lead with 1:52 left in overtime. His first bucket came after he snagged an offensive rebound. The second one came after Brandon Taylor, an 86 per cent free throw shooter, missed three straight from the line to prevent Utah from taking the lead. "Rondae had some offensive rebounds and some plays that he made that were great," Johnson said. "If we didnt have him, we wouldnt have won." Delon Wright made a pair of free throws to cut it to 62-60, but threw the ball away with 33.9 seconds left. Johnson and T.J. McConnell each made free throws to help secure the victory. The Wildcats (24-2, 11-2 Pac-12) beat Utah for the ninth straight time since a loss to the Utes in the 1998 NCAA tournament. Arizona also held onto sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, one game ahead of UCLA. Taylor had 13 points and Wright and Dallin Bachynski each scored 12 for the Utes (17-9, 6-8), who lost at home for the second time this season. Utah last beat Arizona at home in 1985. The Utes fell short despite outrebounding the Wildcats 37-31 and finishing with a 34-23 edge in the paint. "It was a classic game and one of the things I was most proud of is the fact that we came back," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We built that deficit against a really good basketball team and (then) put a little different lineup on the floor and went small. I thought some of our young kids gave us a great lift and we got more aggressive. We got to the free throw line." Arizona started strong, making its first four field goal attempts and taking a 9-8 lead. Utah kept pace by hitting seven of its first 10 shots from the field. Princeton Onwas stole the ball from Hollis-Jefferson and dunked it on the other end to cap a 6-0 spurt. Arizona went on a 14-0 run later in the half. York capped the surge by hitting a 3-pointer and then taking his own steal from Taylor in for a layup, giving the Wildcats a 25-16 lead. "Thats what he can do," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "He made some timely shots. One of the big reasons we went in the half with a lead was because of his offence." Utah briefly trimmed the deficit to five after baskets from Taylor and Bachynski. Arizona quickly answered, pushing the lead to double digits with 3s from York and Hollis-Jefferson that made it 35-24. The Utes cut it to single digits again when Onwas took another steal in for a dunk to make it 35-26. Arizona had a chance to take a 12-point lead into the locker room when Jordin Mayes nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the officials waved it off during halftime. Utah cut the lead to 40-33 when Taylor stole the ball from Johnson and took it in for a layup. The Wildcats thwarted the rally for a time, going back up by 12 on McConnells jumper. But the Utes ripped off a 10-2 run to get back into the game. A pair of big baskets from freshman Ahmad Fields cut the deficit to 48-44. Arizona endured a short cold spell after a layup from McConnell made it 52-44 with 6:41 left, going 3:13 without a field goal. The Wildcats also had to finish the game without star forward Aaron Gordon after he fouled out with 8:41 left in the second half. Utah took advantage with an 11-2 run and went ahead 55-54 on a runner from Jordan Loveridge with 3:09 remaining. Arizona regained a one-point lead on Johnsons jumper with 2:21 left. Utah tied it when Loveridge made one of two free throws with 28 seconds to go. McConnell had a chance to win it for the Wildcats in regulation, but missed a runner in the lane as time expired. Arizona made sure its second chance to win in overtime didnt slip away. "At some points, we werent playing smart basketball," McConnell said. "But at the end we did and thats what matters most." Curley Culp Womens Jersey . Neither made it that far in 2013. Not even close. Federer lost his second match at the All England Club. Nadal exited in the first round, a year after bowing out in the second. Jeffery Simmons Titans Jersey . 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Napoli hit two home runs, Jonny Gomes and prized rookie Xander Bogaerts also connected, and the Red Sox kept up their dizzying scoring spree at Yankee Stadium by bashing New York 13-9 Saturday for a fifth straight win.PORTLAND, Ore. - LaMarcus Aldridges first basket of this season was a bit of a surprise, even to him.Aldridge hit a 3-pointer and Portlands All-Star forward went on to score 27 points in the Trail Blazers 106-89 season-opening victory over the injury-depleted Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.Aldridge, who has been working on his long-range shot, said Russell Westbrooks defence on the play gave him no choice but to shoot.I dont think anyone was thinking my first shot would be a long 3, so it was pretty cool, he said.The Thunder only suited up nine players. Most notably they were without reigning NBA MVP Kevin Durant, who had surgery for a fractured bone in his right foot this month and will likely be sidelined until December.Westbrook picked up the slack, with 38 points, including 26 in the first half.After trailing for much of the game, Portland pulled to an 89-80 lead with 7 minutes left on Damian Lillards 3-pointer. Nicolas Batum passed to Aldridge for the alley-oop dunk to put the Blazers up 93-83 and the Thunder could not catch up.It felt great, Aldridge said. Ive been waiting for this game for a while.Portland outscored the Thunder 31-12 in the fourth quarter. All five Blazers starters were in double figures.With 14 straight home-opening victories, the Blazers matched the Boston Celtics record set from 1979-92.Also sitting out the opener for the Thunder were guard Reggie Jackson (right ankle), forward Grant Jerrett (ankle surgery), guard Jeremy Lamb (lower back sprain), forward Mitch McGary (left foot fracture) and guard Anthony Morrow (left MCL sprain).Durant averaged 32 points last season when the Thunder went to the Western Conference finals, carrying the team when Westbrook was nursing a knee injury. The roles are reversed to start this season.I thought we played hard. Thats the only thing I can ask from the guys. Just compete, play hard and play for each other. They did that tonight but we made too many mistakes at the end of the game, Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.The Blazers opened with the exact same roster as last season, when they won 54 games and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.Despite being short-handed, Oklahoma City took a 13-5 lead on Westbrooks seven-point outburst.The Blazers pulled in front 35-34 in the second quarter on a 12-footer from Chris Kaman, picked up by the Blazers as a free agent in the off-season to help backup Robin Lopez.Westbrook hit five straight free throws to give the Thunnder back the lead, and he dunked to close out the half make it 54-49 for Oklahoma City at the break.ddddddddddddWestbrook pushed the lead to 71-65 midway through the third quarter with a layup and the free throw. But the Blazers never let the game get away from them and trailed just 77-75 going into the final quarter.Lillard, who had no points in the first half, hit a 3-pointer that gave Portland an 81-77 lead with 10:35 go.We put ourselves in position to win the game but we dont take moral victories around here and never will, Westbrook said. We just gotta find a way to close the game out better.TIP-INSTrail Blazers: The Blazers have a new floor at the Moda Center, thanks to a fan contest last spring that garnered 19,000 entries. The court is lighter within the 3-point arc and the keys are painted solid red. The Blazers pinwheel is still at centre court. ... Portland was without centre Meyers Leonard because of an upper respiratory infection.Thunder: Durant was on the court in his sweats in pregame warmups, his foot in a sturdy grey boot. He changed into a suit and watched the game from courtside. It was the first game against the Blazers he had missed in his career. ... Oklahoma Citys schedule has the Thunder travelling 6,300 total miles with two back-to-backs. ... As usual when the Thunder come to town, there were several Seattle SuperSonics jerseys in the crowd.BATUMS D: Batums defence of Westbrook in the fourth quarter helped boost the Blazers. Westbrook had just two of his points in the final period. Thats kind of been my job since I got here, to take the best player and to try to stop him, said the versatile forward. Batum finished with 16 points, five rebounds and six assists.QUOTING: Brooks on Westbrook: Russells our leader. Hes our leader on the court until Kevin comes back — and then weve got two leaders. I have no complaints how Russell played. Hes an emotional, competitive basketball player and hes going to lead us that way. I thought he was terrific tonight.LILLARDS SLOW START: Lillard finished with 10 points, seven in the fourth quarter alone. He and Wesley Matthews combined to make all five of their 3-point attempts in the period. I didnt want to force my rhythm on to the game, Lillard said. I knew there would come a point where I needed to attack or make a shot or make a play, and that time came.UP NEXTTrail Blazers: At Sacramento Kings on Friday night.Thunder: At Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. ' ' '