In a back and forth contest, Arizona leads Valparaiso 32-30 at the half in McKale Center.
The Crusaders lead 24-20 with 5:49 left in the half, but the Wildcats closed out the half on a 12-6 run to head into the locker room on top.
UA senior forward Jesse Perry leads all scorers with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting to go along with a team-high five rebounds.
Arizona freshman guard Nick Johnson also gave the Wildcats a big lift off the bench after drilling two triples and scoring eight points on 2-of-4 shooting.
Fellow shooting guard Kyle Fogg bounced back after a rough exhibition season — 3-for-13 shooting — to score eight points and grab three rebounds.
Valparaiso shot only 37.5 percent from the field in the first half but still remain in the game due to Arizona’s inability to keep the Crusaders off of the free throw line. Valparaiso shot 10-for-14 from the line in the first half.
Arizona has five players with two fouls — Solomon Hill, Jordin Mayes, Josiah Turner, Kyryl Natyazhko and Angel Chol. Turner, Hill and Mayes combined to score only four points on 1-for-10 shooting.