LAS VEGAS– Arizona men’s basketball started slowly but made a run to take a 35-33 halftime lead over Colorado Saturday in the T-Mobile Arena. 

The Wildcats started the game shooting 1-of-5 and trailing Colorado by as much as six. 

After Sean Miller timeout Arizona responded with a 13-2 run midway through the half that put the Wildcats up by as much as eight. However, Colorado came back and refused to go away for the rest of the half. 

Jackson-Cartwright scored the first five points for Arizona and finished the half with eight points, three assists and two rebounds. He made a 3-pointer to start the game and then hit another from the same spot a few minutes later. 

Coming off a game where he shot 1-of-10 and only scored two points, Allonzo Trier lead scoring with 12 points. After initially missing a deep contested three, Trier made one from the corner to start scoring. He shot 3-of-5 in the first half and made his way to the free throw line four times. 

Colorado’s George King led the way for the Buffs with 10 points. He shot a perfect 2-for-2 from three. 

Arizona’s freshman and Pac-12 player of the year, Deandre Ayton, added six points and three rebounds. 

From the opening tip-off Arizona took to ball inside to Ayton. But Colorado’s seven-footer Dallas Walton blocked his first layup and then Ayton missed his next three attempts. Ayton didn’t score until midway through the half when Arizona went back to him and he worked his way through traffic for a layup. 

Both teams shot just over 40 percent from both the floor and 3-point range. Colorado had six turnovers and Arizona had five. 

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