No. 2 Arizona men’s basketball beat Cal State Northridge 86-68 in the Maui Invitational opening round. The Wildcats never trailed and led by as many as 29. However, the Wildcats had 18 turnovers and forced 16.
Point guard T.J. McConnell had seven points, five rebounds and eight assists in 23 minutes of action.
Arizona shot 54 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range. CSUN was 42 percent from the field and 20 percent from 3.
Forward Stanley Johnson had 17 points in his second consecutive start of the season.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson again didn’t start. Instead, the 6-foot-7 forward had 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Center Kaleb Tarczewski had three points on 1-2 shooting and four rebounds, finishing the game with four fouls. Guard Elliott Pitts had a career-high 10 points.
Forward Brandon Ashley had 13 points and three rebounds.
Check back with us later tonight for a full recap of tonight’s action.
Game Nuggets:
-Arizona made eight 3-pointers tonight after making four last game.
-Before the game, UA head coach Sean Miller and CSUN head coach Reggie Theus received leis.
-CSUN is playing in the Maui Invitational, but not in Maui, Hawaii — just in the opening games such as this and regional games in Little Rock, Ark.
-Arizona plays in Maui Nov. 24-26.
-There was one tie and zero lead changes.
-The Matadors have 23 points off of turnovers, the UA 11.
-CSUN had one block and the Wildcats had two.
-14 Wildcats played, after 12 saw action on Friday in the season opener.
_______________
Follow James Kelley on Twitter.