LAS VEGAS -- Arizona scored the first nine points in overtime to secure an 82-78 win over Wichita State in a Friday night semifinal matchup at the Roman Main Event.
 
The Shockers (3-1) will meet UNLV in Sunday's third-place game (11 p.m. CT).
 
WSU's Tyson Etienne scored 24 of his game-high 27 points after halftime, including a three-pointer with 13 seconds remaining in regulation that knotted the game at 69 and capped a remarkable comeback from 16 points down.
 
Bennedict Mathurin scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Arizona (4-0 and receiving votes in both major polls), which made 16 of its first 28 shots but just 8-of-31 thereafter and committed 22 turnovers.
 
Qua Grant added 13 points and six rebounds. Craig Porter Jr. scored nine of his career-high 11 points in the first half and finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Arizona finished with 10 blocks. WSU held an 11-2 advantage in steals with Kenny Pohto and Ricky Council IV collecting three-apiece.
 
Etienne was 9-of-27 from the field and sank five three-pointers.
 
His 27 field goal attempts were the most by a Shocker since Jan. 23, 1985 when Xavier McDaniel took 27 shots in a win over Creighton.
 
Etienne's 15 three-point attempts were the third-most in school history.
 
The Shockers tied a 24-year-old team record with 39 three-point tries, originally set in an overtime game against Kansas State on Dec. 10, 1997. They sank 12 of them to finish at 30.8 percent.
 
80 field goal attempts were also the most for a WSU team since that day.
 
WSU shot 33.8 percent overall but managed 21 more attempts than Arizona, thanks to 20 offensive rebounds and 22 Wildcat turnovers.
 
Arizona (40.7 percent) missed 22 of its 27 three-pointers but outscored the Shockers 29-12 at the foul line.
 
WSU trailed by as many as 16 points with 12:24 remaining but launched a 17-2 run, capped by Etienne's three that sliced the Arizona lead to 56-55 with still 8:44 to play.
 
Qua Grant's triple tied the game with 2:09 remaining, and he sank a free throw to give the Shockers their first lead, 65-64, with 1:35 left.
 
Arizona moved back in front, 69-66, on Tubelis' three-point play with 21.5 seconds showing.
 
Etienne answered with a three with 13 seconds left, and Arizona came up empty on a potential game-winner.
 
Fouls took their toll on the Shockers' front line. With centers Morris Udeze and Kenny Pohto both out of the game, Arizona went to work inside and on the glass.
 
The Wildcats started overtime with a 9-0 run.
 
WSU didn't score its first basket of the extra period until the 1:30-mark. Etienne and Grant each made threes – the last with 3.2 seconds on the clock to cut the deficit to 80-78 – but Arizona's Justin Kier sank two free throws to put the game away.