TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats are poised to become the top-ranked basketball team in the nation, and they can thank T.J. McConnell for the opportunity. The transfer point guard from Duquesne had 13 points, six assists and seven rebounds, making critical plays down the stretch, and No. 2 Arizona escaped with a 63-58 victory over UNLV on Saturday. Brandon Ashley also had 13 points, and Nick Johnson and Kaleb Tarczewski added 12 apiece for the Wildcats. However, Johnson shot just 4 for 15. With No. 1 ranked Michigan State falling to North Carolina, Arizona (9-0) seems a safe bet to move to No 1. "I think its something we feel like weve earned," Wildcats coach Sean Miller said. "We know that being ranked No. 1 doesnt mean that we won the championship or the seasons now over, but Im not going to play the negative card at all. ... To be ranked No. 1 is maybe the greatest compliment you can have." Bryce DeJean-Jones scored 16 points, Khem Birch had 12 and Roscoe Smith 10 for the Rebels (3-4) in their first road game of the season. Smith entered the game as the top rebounder in the country at 16 per game. He finished this one with six rebounds, just one on offence as Arizona outrebounded UNLV 41-29, 18-5 on the offensive boards. "There were times I felt that I was boxing out three guys," Smith said. "Arizona is ranked No. 2 and now will be No. 1, so they didnt just get there with no one." There were 18 lead changes and neither team led by more than six points. McConnell sank a 15-footer with 3:10 to play to put Arizona up for good, 58-57. After Dejean-Jones missed a 3-pointer, McConnells pretty bounce pass to Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for a dunk made it 60-57 with 2:20 to play. UNLV managed one field goal in the final six minutes, Birchs rebound basket that gave the Rebels their last lead at 57-56 with 3:30 to play. Birch made one of two free throws with 1:52 to go to cut Arizonas lead to 60-58, but McConnell found Ashley for a basket with 27 seconds to go to make it 62-58. McConnell made one of two free throws with 15.3 seconds to go to wrap up the scoring. "Hes in many ways the heart and soul of what we do," Miller said, "and I think you saw that in many ways in the second half." McConnell said he "just tried to slow the game down, let it come to me." "I kind of live for those moments," he said, "and I know we all do." There were 30 turnovers in the game, 16 by UNLV and 14 by Arizona. The Rebels shot 64 per cent in the first half (16 for 25) to Arizonas 52 per cent (17 of 33) and led 42-39 at the break. The scoring dropped drastically in the second half, with Arizona outscoring UNLV 24-16. The Rebels shot 28 per cent (7 for 25) in the second half while Arizona was at 32 per cent (11 of 34). Miller said that was the emphasis at halftime, to get back to his teams identity -- defence and rebounding. He praised the UNLV effort, saying he saw a bunch of talented players playing together as a team. Thats the way Rebels coach Dave Rice saw it, too. "We were a confident group coming in here and we felt we had a great week of practice," Rice said. "We spent most of this season getting to know one another and we have made major strides." There were 19 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, 10 by UNLV and nine by the Wildcats. Every one of the seven Arizona players who played in the first half had at least one turnover. The Wildcats led 37-31 on McConnells reverse layup on a pass from Hollis-Jefferson with 3:35 to play. Arizona was up 39-35 on Hollis-Jeffersons spin move inside with just under two minutes to go, but Roscoe Smith sank a 17-footer, Kevin Olekaibe hit a 3 and Kendall Smith scored on a reverse layup to give UNLV its three-point halftime cushion. Arizona scored the first six points of the second half to go up 45-42, but the Rebels scored the next six to lead 48-45 on Dejean-Jones 16-footer with 15:36 to play. A 5-0 spurt regained the lead for Arizona, Aaron Gordons emphatic dunk on a pass from Ashley made it 52-49 with 12:05 to go. Again, the Rebels responded, scoring the next six and the back-and-forth battle persisted. The capacity crowd at McKale Center was decked out in white for the teams annual "white out" promotion. Arizona had lost its previous two white outs, and this one was shaky. Stitched Soccer Jerseys .com) - Novak Djokovic captured a mens Open Era-record fifth Australian Open title on Sunday by defeating rival Andy Murray in the final in Melbourne. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic .Y. - Matt Harvey wants to make sure hes on the mound in late October — if the New York Mets get there for the first time since 2006. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ . MLB executive Joe Torre ruled on Tuesday nights game at Wrigley Field that was called after 4 1-2 innings. The Cubs were declared the winners by a 2-0 score. Now, it is instead a suspended game that will resume at 4:05 p. Cheap Soccer Jerseys . - The Oakland Athletics have finalized an agreement on a 10-year extension to play at the Coliseum through the 2024 season. Replica Soccer Jerseys .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr.Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - James Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas each scored eight of their 15 points during the pivotal third quarter, and Toronto snapped its four-game skid by pulling away for a 109-96 victory over the Boston Celtics at Air Canada Centre. Kyle Lowry and Lou Williams had 19 points apiece, and Johnson pulled down 10 rebounds. Amir Johnson scored 15, and Patrick Patterson totaled 10 points and nine boards for the Atlantic Division leaders, who beat the Celtics for the fourth straight time. I thought our defensive mojo was back, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. We were doing the things we needed to do with activity and anticipation. Kelly Olynyk, a Toronto native, had 23 points for Boston, which has dropped nine of its last 11 games. Canada basketball is huge up here, Olynyk said. Its always nice to come up here and play well in front of your country. James Johnson and Valanciunas combined to shoot 8-of-9 from the floor in the third quarter, when the Raptors turned a 2-point deficit early in the period into an 82-65 cushion going into the fourth. Amir Johnsons layup to start the quarter expanded Torontos lead to 49-43, but Boston surged in front and gained a 55-53 edge on Jared Sullingers jumper with 8:47 left. The Raptors responded with a 15-2 run with Valanciunas scoring six of those points. Pattersons short jumper at the horn to end the period extended Torontos lead to 17, and the hosts lead never dipped under eight points in the fourth.dddddddddddd Lowry scored 10 in the final stanza. Avery Bradley had seven points in the first quarter to help the Celtics grab a 26-19 lead by the end of the period. The visitors used a 13-2 run during the quarter, which was capped by Bradleys layup for a 17-9 edge. Brandon Bass dunk extended Bostons lead to 40-31 with 5:35 remaining in the half, but the Raptors scored the ensuing 12 points. Greivis Vasquez started the burst with a 3-pointer and James Johnson finished it by sinking 1-of-2 free throws with 1:28 left. Williams slam with 17.7 seconds left brought the Raptors lead to 47-43 at the break. Game Notes The Raptors are 6-0 against the Atlantic Division this season ... Toronto hasnt lost five in a row since Nov. 26 - Dec. 6, 2013 ... Raptors forward Terrence Ross went 2-of-4 from 3-point range, part of Torontos 13-of-30 effort. He has made at least one 3-pointer in a career-best 13 consecutive games ... The Raptors still have the Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans left on this six-game homestand ... Bradley had 17 points ... Celtics forward Jeff Green didnt play amid rumors that he was being traded to Memphis. ' ' '