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SALT LAKE CITY — The Arizona Wildcats took care of business Thursday night, playing stifling defense while Mark Lyons had one of his best games of the season, to defeat the Belmont Bruins 81-64 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Lyons, who finished first-team all-conference in the Pac-12, has had a successful season in his first year with the Wildcats. Lyons transferred from Xavier to Arizona, but the transition was not as foreign as a shift across the country would seem.
Lyons was originally recruited to Xavier by Arizona coach Sean Miller, who left Xavier in 2009, and the two were never able to play together. Lyons had a contentious career at Xavier, clashing with Miller’s former assistant Chris Mack. Lyons also was suspended in 2011 for his participation in a brawl in the closing seconds of a game against the Cincinnati Bearcats, a brawl that resulted in multiple players receiving punishments from the schools and conferences.
But a transfer reunited the former AAU teammate of Jimmer Fredette with Miller, and the old point guard was able to help his new point guard in the Tucson desert. The point guard is often considered the head coach on the court, and the relationship between point guard and coach is frequently close.
Lyons made Miller happy by doing what he does best against Belmont — driving to the rim and scoring. He finished the game with 23 points, capped by a big-time dunk in the lane with one minute remaining. The Bruins weren’t able to contain the powerful point guard, who used his physical ability — quickness, speed and strength — to navigate his way into the paint where he would unleash a floater, hesitate and drive to the rim, or make a smart pass out to an open teammate.
Dan Lewis covers BYU sports for KSL.com. He is currently attending Brigham Young University, studying communications with an emphasis in multimedia journalism.
