The No. 1 University of Arizona men’s basketball team dismantled Abilene Christian University, winning 96-62 on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. in McKale Center. The victory gave Arizona its 10th straight win, remaining perfect on the season. For this matchup, the Wildcats returned home after blowing out the No. 12 University of Alabama on the road 96-75 last Saturday.
Six Wildcats ended the night in double figures, led by freshman guard Brayden Burries, who scored 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting. This is Burries’ third straight game scoring 20+ points.
Despite Arizona collecting 19 turnovers, the team shot a collective 30-for-45 from the field and 6-for-14 from 3-point range. The Wildcats shot a season high 66.7% from the field.
Junior center Motiejus Krivas went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, leading second with 15 points and three steals. Additionally, freshman forward Ivan Kharchenkov put up 11 points, shooting 3-for-4 from the field.
Three players secured 10 points including senior forward Tobe Awaka, freshman forward Koa Peat and senior guard Jaden Bradley. Notably, all of Bradley’s points came from free-throws alongside three steals.
First half
About 13 seconds into the game, Abilene Christian gained two fouls, sending Kharchenkov to the free-throw line, as he went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe.
On the next possession, Arizona worked the ball around before finding Kharchenkov, who buried a corner 3-pointer, pushing the lead to 4-0. Soon after, Krivas scored a dunk on a fast break, extending Arizona’s lead to 8-2.
ACU forward Bradyn Hubbard scored Abilene Christian’s first made layup; however, Kharchenkov found room in the paint, responding with a layup from underneath the basket to make it 12-4.
ACU guard Cbo Newton scored a layup himself, cutting the deficit to just 8 points. Burries answered with back-to-back shots, stretching the 19-6 advantage.
Abliene Christian started scoring, finding an offensive flow, as guard Isaac Dye hit a shot from beyond the perimeter. The Wildcats then found Awaka for a layup, regaining the 10-point lead, 21-11. Surrounded by defenders, Awaka gave up the ball to Anthony Dell’Orso, who buried the 3-pointer to make it 25-11.
Abilene Christian scored a layup off Bradley’s turnover, cutting into the margin. The following play, Krivas went inside for another dunk, as Arizona led by 15 points with 10 minutes remaining before the half.
Peat cleaned up on a tip-in dunk to put Arizona ahead 37-19 with under 7 minutes in the first half. Abilene Christian attempted to chip away at the score with a few 3-pointers but could only trim the deficit to 14 points.
Awaka blocked a shot then finished a dunk off Bradley’s feed. Arizona kept pressing as Dell’Orso added a fastbreak layup. At this point, the Wildcats had a 51-30 lead with one minute remaining in the first half.
Bradley led Arizona with 10 first-half points where notably, all his points were scored from the charity stripe. Arizona shot 65.2% from the field compared to ACU’s 29.6%
Second half
Two minutes into the second half, Peat scored a jumper, extending the Wildcats lead by 25 points.
Though Arizona was ahead, the Wildcats continued to play heavy defense as Kharchenkov grabbed the ball out of ACU’s hands, converting it to a dunk on the other end.
Abilene had a tough lead to cut as Newton hit a shot from beyond the arc, but Arizona’s lead ballooned to 26 as ACU was in trouble.
Arizona kept its offensive rhythm going as guard Dwayne Aristode hit a shot from beyond the perimeter, making it 75-46 with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Soon after, Burries gained a 31-point lead for Arizona, scoring a jumper off an ACU turnover. Arizona forward Sidi Gueye came into the game, immediately dunking on the fast break, erupting the crowd in McKale Center.
Within 1 minute, Burries broke out for 7 straight points as Arizona led 88-56. The Wildcats closed out the game on a 6-3 scoring run with 3-pointers made by guard Evan Nelson and Aristode.
Ultimately, Abilene Christian never mounted a comeback, trailing by 34 points and losing 96-62 in McKale Center.
Looking ahead
Arizona will travel to Phoenix to take on San Diego State University in a Hall of Fame series matchup on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 8:30 p.m. in Mortgage Matchup Center. The game will also be streamed on ESPN2.
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