LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Sean Miller has seen senior guards carry their basketball teams to victory plenty of times. He did it as a player at Pitt back in the day and watched it happen as a head coach at Xavier.

That's why Miller, the first-year coach at Arizona, appreciated senior guard Trevon Hughes' extraordinary effort while leading the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team to a 65-61 victory over his Wildcats Monday night at the Maui Invitational.

"It's a special time," said Miller of a player's senior year in college. "So many young people leave early before they ever get to that point. That last year, like that last year in high school, is the only one you remember."

And Hughes' performance against the Wildcats at the Lahaina Civic Center here was certainly a game that many others will remember, too. The 6-foot battler from Queens, N.Y., finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, five steals, three assists and a career-high two blocks to lead the Badgers (3-0) into Tuesday's second-round game (8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN) with Gonzaga (3-1) at the Lahaina Civic Center here.

But those stats don't begin to tell the story of how he held the Badgers together during a physical battle that included 54 fouls called on both teams and forced junior forwards Keaton Nankivil and Jon Leuer to the bench and youngsters like freshman forward Mike Bruesewitz on the floor.

Or how he disrupted the Wildcats' offense and was a big reason why they shot just 36.4 percent overall and 27.3 percent from 3-point range.

And, finally, when the game hung in the balance in the final minutes, how he took over the game with the most special performance by a UW guard since Devin Harris headed to the National Basketball Association.

"It came down to that last four-minute segment. They made some great plays coming down the stretch and we didn't. Hughes was responsible for that," said Miller.

Consider this: Arizona had Wisconsin on the ropes with three minutes left after sensational freshman Derrick Williams, who finished with 25 points and 8 rebounds, dunked to give the Wildcats a 55-54 lead. The Badgers responded with a shot-clock violation.

But Hughes refused to let the Badgers fail. His rebound on the Wildcats' next possession led to a foul and he made one of two free throws. Then he made an incredible block of a shot in the paint by the 6-9, 235-pound Williams and shortly thereafter was fouled again and made two free throws.

After Hughes rebounded another Arizona miss, he helped set up the first of two major Nankivil dunks in the final 91 seconds that gave the Badgers a 59-55 lead.

After Arizona forward Jamelle Horne hit a 3, Hughes drove the lane and drew most of the Wildcats over to try and block the shot. He missed but Nankivil, who finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds in just 17 minutes, grabbed the rebound and dunked it home to make it 61-58 with 30 seconds left.

The Badgers owned a 14-4 edge in offensive rebounds and Hughes was a big reason for it.

"When you have a guard as aggressive as (Hughes) and he gets the ball close to the basket on the dribble, it forces help," Miller explained. "We had a couple of players -- Jamelle Horne in particular -- who came across the lane to block the shot or challenge the shot and he misses it. And his player, the guy he is guarding, is freed up to get the offensive rebound.

"To me, a couple of the biggest plays down the stretch came on offensive rebounds," Miller continued. "But it happened because of Trevon Hughes having the ball right at the basket, forcing help. And when you force help it's tough."

Jason Bohannon hit two free throws with 15.9 seconds left but Horne hit another 3 and UW's lead was cut to 63-61 with 8.9 seconds left. The Wildcats fouled Nankivil, who made one of two free throws with 8.2 seconds left. Arizona's Williams rebounded but Arizona's chances of tying the game died when Hughes snuck over and tied him up. The possession arrow pointed toward Wisconsin.

Hughes was fouled a couple seconds later and he made one of two free throws to finish off the scoring.

Miller couldn't stop talking about Hughes after the game. It was high praise from one point guard to another.

"He adds such a unique dimension because, in my estimation, he's a much different type of player than the rest of their team," Miller said.

"The other guys are very position-oriented, very cautious on the perimeter making sure they are able to keep the guy in front of them," he continued. "Then you have this other player on the team who is in the passing lanes and disrupts and pressures and is very physical. He challenges you on offense and defense. I'll tell you, I have a hard time believing there are many guards better in this country ...

"Trevon Hughes, I think, is one of college basketball's best guards when you consider what he means to his team."

UW coach Bo Ryan concurred.

"Senior leadership, toughed it out, kept us on course. That's a big step," said Ryan, who half-joked that it was too bad the game televised by ESPN2 was played so late. It ended around 1:30 a.m. Madison time and 2:30 a.m. in Hughes' hometown.

"I thought he stepped up in a game where two teams were pretty even," said Ryan. "I think he made a big difference."

Just don't think Hughes was going to rest on his laurels. All the Badgers' leader could think about after the game was how the Badgers grabbed a 13-0 lead to start the game and let Arizona back in it.

"I'm not satisfied," said Hughes. "We have business to take care of. We have two more games left. You can't get satisfied. We can't hang our hats on this game. We were up 13 and lost the lead. We should never have given up that lead."

Related

• Trips to Hawaii have been memorable for the Badgers
• UW's Hughes makes point with Arizona coach Miller
• No one wants favorite's role in Maui
• Video game tournament not kind to Badgers
• Hughes' his biggest challenge may be himself

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