Behind a 14-0 start and 17 points from power forward Elias Harris, Gonzaga leads Arizona 39-21 at halftime in Seattle, Wash.
Harris went 7-for-10 from the field and drilled both of his three-point attempts as he gave the Wildcats’ smaller frontline fits in the paint.
The Bulldogs out-rebounded Arizona 27-13 and the Wildcats had no answer for Gonzaga’s interior size and physicality.
While UA couldn’t contain Gonzaga’s bigs, it was almost just as bad offensively. As a result of Gonzaga’s suffocating defense and Arizona’s lack of playmakers, the Wildcats shot only 31.3 percent from the field while making only 1-of-9 triples.
After jumping out to a 14-point lead with 14:43, Gonzaga led by no less than 13 the rest of the half. The Wildcats trailed by as much as 19 and have their work cut out for them in the second half.
Nick Johnson leads Arizona with seven points, but he’s been UA’s lone contributor on the offensive end. Solomon Hill and Kyle Fogg are each 1-for-6 from the field while Jesse Perry is 2-for-6.
Freshman center Angelo Chol gave the Wildcats a lift inside with a rebound and two blocks off of the bench, but Arizona needs more than just Chol down low if it hopes to make this a game in the second half.