The Arizona Wildcats' outside shooting touch deserted them, and their 22-game home winning streak was history.
The No. 23 Wildcats made 5 of 26 3-pointers, and shot just 33 percent overall, in a 61-57 loss to unranked San Diego State on Wednesday night.
''They had a great defensive game plan, made it hard for us to score anywhere close to the basket,'' Arizona coach Sean Miller said, ''and on a night where we really needed to make 3s, we just didn't have an answer.''
The Wildcats never led. They fell behind 21-4 early but climbed back to cut it to 31-29 at halftime. That's as close as they got. San Diego State built a 13-point lead in the second half and held on at the end.
''It's hard for a team to make two big runs in a game,'' Arizona freshman Nick Johnson said. ''`We made the first one and then the second half they came out and punched us again. We have to put down our foot and not let that happen.''
While Arizona (4-2) hadn't lost at home in a long while, San Diego State won its third straight at McKale.
The Aztecs had won twice here in the NCAA tournament to advance to the regional semifinals last season. This, though, is a much different San Diego State team, with Tapley the lone starter back from that 34-3 squad.
''I don't think I've ever won in here against Arizona,'' Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said. ''I won in here last year, but I don't think I've ever won against Arizona. You beat a good, talented team in a building that's very, very difficult for anyone to win in, you have to be proud.''
James Rahon added 13 points for the Aztecs (6-1), who won beat Arizona in Tucson for only the second time in 15 attempts. Fisher's San Diego State teams had gone 0-3 before Wednesday night.
The Wildcats' last home loss was 73-69 to Arizona State on Feb. 21, 2010. A ranked Arizona team had not been beaten at McKale by an unranked opponent since Oregon did it on Jan. 5, 2008.
''The homecourt streak is everything,'' Miller said. ''Winning at home in college basketball usually means you have a heck of a season.''
A lot of the San Diego talent is gone, but those players left a winning attitude.
''You've got to believe that you're good,'' Fisher said, ''and when you believe that you have a chance to go out and do it.''
The difference came from long range. San Diego State made 8 of 12 3-pointers - 3 of 4 by Tapley.
The Aztecs dared big men Solomon Hill and Jesse Perry to shoot 3s, and the pair was a combined 2 of 10.
Hill scored 14 points but was just 4 of 12 from the field as the Wildcats shot 33 percent overall. Freshmen Josiah Turner and Johnson added 10 apiece for Arizona. Coach Sean Miller called it the best game of Turner's young career.
The Aztecs bolted to a 21-4 lead and were up 29-14 when Alec Williams banked in a 10-footer with 7:40 to go in the half.
''We weren't ready,'' Perry said. ''We came out laid back and lazy.''
San Diego State didn't get another field goal before halftime as Arizona finished the half on a 15-2 run to cut the lead to 31-29 at the break.
The Aztecs scored the first four points of the second half and were up 44-36 after Rahon scored and was fouled. He missed the free throw, and Perry's dunk, followed by Kevin Parrom's 3-pointer cut San Diego State's lead to 44-41 with 13:55 to play.
Arizona got no closer after that. Rahon made a 10-footer from the baseline, then Jamaal Franklin sank consecutive 3s and Tim Shelton made a layup at the shot clock buzzer in a 10-0 run that put the Aztecs up 54-41 with 11:20 to play.
Johnson's 3-pointer with 3:41 remaining cut it to 57-51, but Tapley's 17-footer boosted it to 59-51 with 1:03 left to virtually seal the win.
The Wildcats shot 31 percent in the first half, 2 of 13 on 3-pointers. The Aztecs, meanwhile, made 10 of their first 15 shots, including 4 of 5 3s. But they were just 2 of 15 the rest of the half.
Hill's two free throws capped a 10-0 spurt that cut it to 29-24 with 4:44 to go. Rahon's two free throws, the only points for San Diego State in that 7 1/2-minute span, boosted the lead to 31-24 before Arizona scored the final five points of the half. Turner's two free throws cut the lead to 31-29 with 4.9 seconds remaining.
