The University of Arizona men’s basketball team won its first exhibition match against Eastern New Mexico University with a dominant 117-54 victory on Monday, Oct. 21 in McKale Center.
Six Wildcats scored in double figures as Arizona was led by Trey Townsend, who completed the night with 24 points. Henri Veesaar led second with 19 points on 8 of 9 overall shooting while defensively, Tobe Awaka gained 15 rebounds in only 21 minutes of play.
First half
Arizona pulled ahead early in the first half, making it difficult for Eastern New Mexico to score. Townsend, a transfer from Oakland University, contributed heavily, finishing on 8-for-11 shooting for the night.
“I feel like I’m a confident shooter. At first I was struggling with that because I wasn’t making very many in practice, but you know, it’s just that repetition and mentality of the whole idea and it worked out today,” Townsend said.
The Wildcats remained consistent with free throws and shooting 8-for-14 from 3-point range in the first half, a major factor in the gap between points in the game.
“We’re trying to build a team to shoot 30 free throws […]. I like that we’re able to establish getting to the foul line. That’s important to me.” said head coach Tommy Lloyd.
The Wildcats pressured Eastern New Mexico to give up seven fouls early on in the first period, allowing Arizona the opportunity to extend the lead and the ability to keep driving to the line.
The energy from the crowd in McKale was nothing short of encouraging for the Wildcats, despite it only being an exhibition game. KJ Lewis, a UA sophomore guard, excited the crowd with a dunk off a turnover in the second half of the first period. Lewis drew the foul, earning a free throw to extend the lead 38-14.
Arizona continued to find ways to score impressive shots and complete dunks as the Greyhounds came up with no answer for the Wildcats’ offense throughout the game.
The Wildcats used quick transitions to score easy layups against Eastern New Mexico. Awaka, a UA junior, played a huge role in transition play as he positioned himself behind the Greyhounds’ defense to get set up for easy scoring. Awaka ended the night with 14 points, completing 4 of 4 on free throw shooting.
Arizona went into halftime leading Eastern New Mexico 64-26.
Second half
The Wildcats started the second period strong, with dunks from Townsend and Veesaar who finished as a major contributor after coming back from being out for nearly a year.
“I didn’t play in a year almost and it just felt great to be back like, I was just so excited, I’ve been working out for a year now and just being able to get back on the court meant a lot,” Veesaar said.
“I mean we have guys that would be starting at a number of programs, and that’s how you build a great program. You have depth and you have options […]. I don’t know exactly who’s going to start or who’s not going to start […]. I love the options we have this roster and I think they’re all going to contribute to winning.” Lloyd said.
50 points came from the Wildcats bench alone, compared to Eastern New Mexico’s 18 bench points the Greyhounds were held to.
Alongside the Wildcats’ scoring were their 47 total rebounds, creating a huge advantage for ball possession. With 14 minutes remaining in the second half, Arizona was leading Eastern New Mexico by 50 points.
The Wildcats continued to pull ahead throughout the entire second half, stretching the lead more over Eastern New Mexico.
The Wildcats reached triple digits with 8 minutes remaining in the game as Eastern New Mexico trailed by 60 points. Arizona concluded the night winning by a blowout score of 117-54.
Looking Ahead
The Wildcats will play in their next exhibition game against Point Loma Nazarene University at McKale Center on Monday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. Arizona will play its first regular season game against Canisius University, also in McKale Center, on Monday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m.
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