The University of Arizona men’s basketball team completed its preseason schedule with a massive 113-64 win over the Point Loma Nazarene University on Oct. 28 in McKale Center. Despite the Arizona football team falling short of victory in a 31-26 loss against the West Virginia University Mountaineers, quarterback Noah Fifita gave a stellar performance, having one of his best games of the season.
Team: Men’s Basketball
The men’s basketball team dominated Point Loma in its final exhibition game, winning 113-64 as six Wildcats finished scoring in double figures. These players included Trey Townsend (18 points), Jaden Bradley (16 points), KJ Lewis (15 points), Carter Bryant (13 points), Tobe Awaka (12 points) and Henri Veesaar (12 points). Townsend led the Wildcats in scoring for his second straight game. Despite Townsend’s lower scoring totals, his impact was felt all over the court as he finished with 10 rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Arizona kept the score close in the first half as the Wildcats entered halftime with a 59-45 lead. However, Arizona would explode in the second half with 54 points compared to Point Loma’s 19. Arizona’s defense continued to control the game, forcing the Sea Lions to go 6-28 on their shots in the second half.
The Wildcats two preseason games this year were the highest-scoring exhibition games since the 2003 matchup against Team Nike, which Arizona won 116-91. The leading scorer from that game was then-sophomore Andre Iguodala who finished with 23 points.
With strong performances from multiple Wildcats, Arizona fans eagerly await for the regular season opener on Monday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. against Canisius University in McKale Center.
Player: Noah Fifita – Football
After a rough stretch of games for the Wildcats, the matchup against the Mountaineers seemed to show improvement since Arizona’s first win since September. However, despite coming up short in the final minutes of the game, Fifita gave one of his best performances of the season so far.
Fifita would have his third highest passing-yard game of the season with 294, coming just second to the 301 yards he had in the game against Texas Tech University. He would achieve his second longest pass of the season, throwing a massive 49-yards to Tetairoa McMillan. The longest occurred on Aug. 31 against the University of New Mexico when Fifita threw 78-yards.
Fifita finished with a 65.6 percent completion rate against West Virginia, his highest since meeting Northern Arizona University, which saw him have a 69.2 percent completion rate. Fifita’s accuracy also saw improvement as he had his first game of the season without an interception. His last no-interception performance came against the University of Utah last season on Nov. 18, 2023.
Additionally, Fifita was able to capture his first career rushing touchdown on a three-yard run late in the fourth quarter. He has been effective running out of the pocket, as seen in a 15-yard run earlier in the game against West Virginia.
The Wildcats look to get back in the win column and secure a victory as they travel to take on the University of Central Florida on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 12:30 p.m. at FBC Mortgage Stadium.
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