Arizona’s home winning streak suffered another close call Wednesday night, but some hot shooting from Gabe York and Allonzo Trier preserved it as the Wildcats defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs 85-72 in the McKale Center.
Trier finished the game with a career high 27 points on 8-11 shooting and Ryan Anderson added 17 as the Wildcats won their 43rd straight game at home.
“I felt great,” Trier said. “I felt very free and comfortable and went out there and played like I know how to play. Be myself.”
Arizona came out hot in the second half, going on a 7-0 to start the period and retaking the lead 50-46. Fresno State came back with an 10-4 run of their own, taking back the lead at 56-54 with just under 13 minutes left in the game.
However, Arizona finally blew the doors open midway through the half. Trailing 58-54, Arizona went on a 15-2 run to take a 69-60 lead and never trailed again despite the Bulldogs bringing the score to within two points.
Trier, who made his second consecutive start, sparked the run. His 16 points in the second half, in addition to his improved defense, led to more praise from his head coach.
“(Trier) is very coachable,” Arizona men’s basketball head coach Sean Miller said. “He is one of the hardest working kids that I have ever been around. He is on a great track to do the right things on the court or off the court.”
However, the strong scoring performances from York and Trier were overshadowed by an injury to starting point guard Kadeem Allen.
With just under five minutes to play in the game, Allen fell to the floor and left the game with an apparent leg injury. The injury occurred when Allen, on the floor, had the ball stolen from him by a Bulldogs player.
After the game, Miller confirmed Allen sprained his ankle. He offered no timetable for Allen’s return.
“This is my 12th year as a head coach,” Miller said. ”In the other 11 years combined, I have never seen this many injuries that we’ve had from the beginning of school to now.”
Allen finished with 13 points on 4-6 shooting including the three-pointer that put the Wildcats up for good.
Arizona, once again, was without big man Kaleb Tarczewski. Elliott Pitts was also out of the game with a personal issue, according to Miller.
Coming off a big win on Saturday against former No. 13 Gonzaga, the current No. 13 Wildcats started off slowly against the Bulldogs, shooting 5-10 and trailing 12-11 after the first five minutes, and trailed 46-43 at halftime. The Bulldogs shot 58 percent in the first, with guard Marvelle Harris scoring 17 of his 23 points in the half.
The Bulldogs were stagnant in the second half, scoring 26 points on 36 percent shooting. After going 5-5 on threes in the in the first half, Fresno State failed to make a single three in the second.
“This game was very similar in a lot of ways to our Gonzaga game,” Miller said. “From a defensive perspective, if you look at their numbers in the first half, the numbers fly off of the charts.”
York, who dropped 18 points against Gonzaga, scored eight of his 12 points on three consecutive baskets that helped seal the Wildcats victory in the final minutes. The team also finished the game with a combined 16 assists.
The Missouri Tigers will be Arizona’s next opponent this Sunday night at McKale. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 pm.
