The University of Arizona men’s basketball team (14-0, 1-0 in Big 12) hit the road to begin conference play against the University of Utah (8-6, 0-1 in Big 12) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Despite playing away from home, the Wildcats did not lose momentum and maintained their undefeated streak.
Arizona remained in control from the beginning. Utah came up empty on its shooting attempts, resulting in Arizona gaining possession of the ball.
Key players
Senior forward Tobe Awaka was essential in this game collecting double figures with 12 rebounds and 18 points. He also hit two 3-pointers for the Wildcats. Awaka’s rebounding allowed Arizona to remain in possession and created many second-chance shots. In total, Arizona scored 15 points off second-chance opportunities.
Tied with Awaka for top scorer was Jaden Bradley with 18 points. Behind Awaka and Bradley was freshman guard Brayden Burries with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Utah made huge roster changes this season, as well as bringing in a new head coach Alex Jensen. The Utes welcomed many freshmen and transfers, but they are still their groove as a team. That makes experienced, returning players like Terrence Brown and Don McHenry especially important to the team.
Brown is a junior guard who led the Utes with 26 points. He shot 10-for-20 field goals and 5-for-5 free throws. Following Brown was fifth year guard McHenry with 15 points and four rebounds.
First half
The Wildcats pulled away from the Utes within the first few minutes. Arizona showcased strong defense with a steal and then a layup by freshman Ivan Kharchenkov. Utah called their first timeout 3 minutes into the game after a 3-pointer from Burries and another steal from Kharchenkov. Burries went to the free throw line, shooting 2-for-2, which gave the Wildcats a 12-point advantage over the Utes.
After a pass from Koa Peat, Anthony Dell’Orso made a reverse layup. Awaka hit a 3-pointer bringing the Wildcats up 27-10. Peat’s counterpart Brown shot a jump shot off an opponent turnover. A missed layup from Burries was rebounded by Brown, who turned it into a Utah layup. Immediately after, Motiejus Krivas made a slam dunk.
Utah began to gain momentum on offense towards the end of the first half. This led them to chip away at the Wildcats’ deficit. Brown made a second chance 3-pointer and shortened the gap to 10 points.
Kharchenkov stole the ball and attempted a layup that was rebounded then put back by Awaka. Awaka then shot his second 3-pointer of the game. Bradley got an easy layup followed by Peat finishing at the rim, which gave the Wildcats a 19-point cushion, as they rounded out the first half. With 0:11 remaining, Bradley put up another layup ending the first half 58-39.
Second half
Krivas started the second half with two free throws, 2-for-2, which put Arizona up by 21 points. Within the first 2 minutes, Utah collected three team fouls. McHenry made his way around Krivas to make a driving layup followed by a dunk from Brown.
A Utah turnover was stolen by Burries, then passed to Peat, who made the dunk on the fast break for Arizona. In the first 8 minutes of the second half, Arizona went 1-for-4 on field goals and Utah 1-for-5.
The Utes cut the deficit from 21 to 15 with a layup by Obomate Abbey. Dwayne Aristode quieted the Utah crowd after Abbey’s shot with a 3-pointer for Arizona. Bradley went in for the layup, but it was blocked by Keanu Dawes. Bradley grabbed the rebound and finished the shot.
Burries got through Utah’s defense to put in a reverse layup. After a turnover, Utah got possession briefly, but Burries grabbed the rebound. He passed it to Awaka, who went for the layup in the paint.
Arizona earned its first Big 12 victory and 14th victory this season. The Wildcats remained undefeated, winning on the road 97-78.
Looking forward
The team will head back home to Tucson to play Kansas State University on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. in McKale Center.
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