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LAS VEGAS -- With his roster down to eight healthy scholarship players, Arizona coach Sean Miller knew one of his freshmen would have to step up during the Continental Las Vegas Invitational.On Thursday night against Santa Clara, two of them did.Lauri Markkanen had 16 points and nine rebounds, Kobi Simmons scored 14 and No. 8 Arizona advanced to the championship game with a 69-61 victory.The Wildcats (5-0) will play Butler for the title on Friday.Every game is going to be a tough game right now, Miller said. It was a great challenge. They played a 3-2 zone for 40 minutes, and for a young group like ours, we had our moments where we really did a nice job. If it wasnt for a couple of turnovers, I think we would have been even better against their zone.Arizona limited the Broncos to 36 percent shooting (9 of 25) in the second half. And yet, Santa Clara sliced its deficit to 59-58 when Jared Brownridge drained a long 3-pointer with 4:10 left -- the teams fourth straight 3 during a 12-4 run.But then Keanu Pinder converted both ends of a 1-and-1, Santa Clara turned the ball over and Parker Jackson-Cartwright hit a 3 to push Arizonas lead back to 64-58. The Wildcats closed the game on a 10-3 spurt, and the Broncos (3-3) went scoreless over the final 3 minutes.I think we just stayed confident in ourselves. We know what we need to do out there and we know what we need to get done, Simmons said. (If) we keep playing hard to the end, well get the victory. We were very composed, we got to our spots, we knew what we wanted to do and I think we did a good job.Brownridge had 25 points. Last season he scored a career-high 44 in Arizonas 75-73 overtime win against Santa Clara, hitting seven 3s and making all 15 of his free throws.Our team did a much better job this year guarding him than last year, Miller said. He made some really, really good shots. There arent many guards that play college basketball that are better ... being able to shoot the 3 than Brownridge.Henrik Jadersten and Nate Kratch each had 10 points for Santa Clara, coached by former Arizona State coach Herb Sendek.Arizona led 37-34 at halftime and scored 14 of the first 23 points in the second half behind Simmons. Every time the Broncos tried to answer, the Wildcats produced timely defensive stops and offensive production to maintain control of the tempo.We just kept fighting, rebounding the ball and being aggressive, said Markkanen, a 7-footer from Finland who is averaging 18.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. We were able to knock some shots down.BIG PICTUREArizona: After playing Butler, the Wildcats get some much-needed time off. Theyll have five days before their next game after playing five games in 11 days and their first six over 14 days in three cities.Santa Clara: Though the Broncos fell short, they showed they can hang with a nationally ranked power, which should help them when West Coast Conference play begins and they face the likes of No. 11 Gonzaga and No. 15 Saint Marys.TARGET PRACTICEAfter shooting 43.3 percent in the first half, the Broncos ended up at 40 percent for the game. Meanwhile, the Wildcats shot 48 percent overall while outrebounding Santa Clara 37-26.Santa Clara did an excellent job on offense, being patient and moving the ball, Miller said. Kobi played a really good game tonight for us. We challenged him a couple of games ago to give more effort defensively and nobody can question his effort tonight. He has a big upside.UP NEXTButler will pose the biggest test for Arizona since the Wildcats beat then-No. 12 Michigan State on Nov. 11 in Hawaii.Santa Clara faces Vanderbilt on Friday in Las Vegas, hoping to avoid dipping below .500. Jeff Mullins Jersey . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. The promotion boasts 14-straight years of business and is operated by MFC president Mark Pavelich, who is often overlooked in this country for the foundation hes established for MMA in Canada. Golden State Warriors Pro Shop . PAUL, Minn. https://www.cheapwarriors.com/189o-andy-phillip-jersey-warriors.html . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. Klay Thompson Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Andrew Bogut Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. BISMARCK, N.D. -- North Dakota State University President Dean Bresciani said Monday that some text messages he sent regarding heavily criticized and now-rescinded media guidelines for covering Bison athletics were not appropriate.Bresciani in a campus-wide email also continued to maintain that he wasnt consulted on the guidelines that were roundly panned by journalists and on social media before NDSU scrapped them after just four days.Bresciani said he was at a funeral out of state when the guidelines were made public, but the explosive reaction on social media ... quickly made me aware (of) them.Also Monday, state Board of Higher Education Chairwoman Kathleen Neset said in a statement that the board is investigating the controversy and will consider next steps as soon as possible. The board has already delayed extending Brescianis contract and said he needs to work on teamwork, communication and collaboration.This new development is serious and consistent with communications issues the board previously identified in Dr. Brescianis improvement plan, Neset said.The short-lived media rules issued July 29 primarily involved restrictions on live broadcasting, internet streaming and social media posts at sporting events for media outlets that didnt have contracts to broadcast basketball and football games. NDSU -- whose football team is the five-time defending Football Championship Subdivision champion -- issued a follow-up statement the next day saying the conditions were needed to protect the commercial interests of stations paying the Fargo school for exclusive rights to TV and radio broadcasts.Three days later, on Aug. 2, NDSU issued a statement rescinding the guidelines. It said Bresciani had not been informed of the guidelines in advance, and quoted him as saying I was profoundly disappointed when I learned the facts about this issue.Text messages from Bresciani to Athletic Director Matt Larsen late on July 29 and early on July 30 that were obtained by blogger Rob Port appeared to contraddict Brescianis profoundly disappointed mood.ddddddddddddIn one text about a newspaper reporters response to the new rules, Bresciani wrote Larson, to make you smirk. In another exchange, Larsen wrote that he was going to circle the wagons with staff, to which Bresciani replied that he thought it was a good idea.Bresciani in his Monday email acknowledged initially supporting the guidelines.I now understand that my initial support was misplaced and some of my text communications were not appropriate, he wrote.In another text the day before the guidelines were rescinded, Bresciani told Larsen to control the spin and to own the decision as yours not something you were told you had to do. He added that he would back the athletic director.NDSU spokeswoman Laura McDaniel said Monday that during that exchange, Bresciani was coaching Larsen on how to approach a possible meeting with upset media members about potential changes to the guidelines. She acknowledged that control the spin was a bad word choice, but that it was absolutely not (Bresciani) saying, `You tell everybody this is your fault.In the schools Aug. 2 statement rescinding the guidelines, Larsen apologized, said he erred in not bringing these ideas forward for the presidents review and regretted the damage this has caused NDSU and its administration.Larsen did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.State Rep. Mark Sanford, R-Grand Forks, chairman of the state Legislatures Interim Higher Education Committee, said Monday that he thinks the guidelines were ill-advised.Thats kind of the heart of all of this, he said.A Fargo newspaper has publicly called for Bresciani to resign. Sanford declined to comment on whether he thought NDSU needed new leadership, saying Brescianis future is up to the state Board of Higher Education.---Follow Blake Nicholson on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/NicholsonBlake ' ' '