Arizona men’s basketball finishes exhibition play with 113-64 win against Point Loma

Kellen O’Halloran

October 29, 2024

Three University of Arizona men’s basketball players take on a player from Eastern New Mexico in McKale Center on Oct. 21. Arizona lead 64-26 at halftime.

The No. 10-ranked Arizona men’s basketball team beat Point Loma Nazarene University 113-64 on Monday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in McKale Center. The Wildcats have now wrapped up pre-season play scoring triple-digits in both exhibition games.

Despite the lopsided score, head coach Tommy Lloyd shared the value of playing in the game.

“This was more of a preparation game,” Lloyd said. “Point Loma is a really good program […]. They’ve got a nice system and I’m glad we played against it because a high percentage of teams have elements of that system in what they do, so we needed to prepare against us.”

Opening the first half, Point Loma jumped to an 8-4 lead behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Coby Barnes and Tyce Paulsen. Arizona quickly responded with a 14-0 run to go up by double-digits, but Point Loma didn’t back down. Luke Smith hit a 3-pointer and Luke Haupt completed a 3-point play, cutting the deficit to 4 for the Sea Lions. Haupt, who made his return after missing last season with an injury, finished second on the team in scoring with 11 points.

The Wildcats stretched their lead to 24 points after a layup made by Anthony Dell’Orso, but Point Loma fought back with a strong sequence led by senior Zackry Paulsen. Zackry Paulsen went on a personal 7-point run starting from a 3-pointer and finishing with free throws after Arizona received a technical foul. A corner 3-pointer by Tyce Paulsen, a sophomore guard for the Sea Lions, brought the deficit back to 10.

Arizona reasserted control before halftime, heading into the locker room with a 59-45 lead. The second half was dominated by the Wildcats, as they opened with a 10-0 run and held the Sea Lions scoreless for the first four minutes. Arizona’s stifling defense limited Point Loma to just 19 second-half points on 21.4% shooting, including 15.8% (3-for-19) from beyond the arc. The Wildcats outscored Point Loma 54-19 in the second half and closed the game on a 20-1 run.

Trey Townsend led Arizona with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, while Jaden Bradley added on 16 points and five assists with zero turnovers. KJ Lewis impressed on both ends of the floor, finishing with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals. Freshman Carter Bryant contributed 13 points off the bench while Tobe Awaka and Henri Veesaar scored 12 points apiece.

Bryant, who was ranked as a top-20 recruit in the country, has performed well in his first two college games. Post-game, Bryant spoke about the challenge of transitioning from high school to college.

“It’s a different type of feel because usually I’m used to being the biggest guy on the court […]. Now it’s been a thing where I am kind of playing catch up, you know what I mean in terms of pace, physicality, shot making and just intensity in general,” Bryant said.