The Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball team was in a hole early in the first half against the San Diego State Aztecs, but a late shooting barrage allowed the Wildcats to close the gap. SDSU leads 31-29 at halftime.

The Wildcats started cold, shooting only 4-for-13 half way through the first period. By the 15:05 mark, Arizona was down 16-2 forcing head coach Sean Miller called a full timeout.

The Aztecs shot 40 percent in the first half and 4-for-7 from three-point range. Jamaal Franklin, who averages 18 points per game for the Aztecs, did not start the game. He is playing with a plastic face mask after breaking his nose in practice on Monday. Junior guard Chase Tapley is SDSU’s leading scorer with 10 points.

Arizona’s late rally was sparked by Solomon Hill, who finished the half as Arizona’s leading scorer with 10 points. Hill’s aggressive rebounds helped quell the amount of points SDSU was scoring off second chance points.

The Wildcats shot just 31 percent in the first half, going 9-for-29 from the field. Arizona is 2-for-13 from beyond the arc.
Partly due to Hill’s play, the Wildcats’ defense picked up late in half and kept SDSU from scoring for the last three minutes of the period.

Check back with dailywildcat.com after the game for a full recap.