The final score doesn’t quite indicate it, but Arizona played about as well as one might expect in the game before Christmas after a physical, defensive battle late on Saturday night. But the hometown Wildcats settled in during the second half, as No. 1 Arizona (12-0) routed Bethune-Cookman (3-9) 107-71 on Monday night at the McKale Center.
Seven players finished in double figures, including another 20-point outing by freshman Brayden Burries, his third in four games. Burries connected on 6-10 shots from the field, including 3-4 from 3-point range. The savvy freshman also went 5-6 from the line, while adding four rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes. Burries has come into his own over the last seven games, averaging 18.4 points while shooting 57.1% from the field and 38.9% from beyond the arc.
Fellow guard Jaden Bradley finished with 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four steals, while freshmen wings Ivan Kharchenkov and Dwayne Aristode scored 14 and 12 points respectively. The German Army Knife Kharchenkov had a team-high five steals, while the Dutchman Aristode caught fire in the second half, connecting on 4-5 shots from the perimeter. In the front court, Motiejus Krivas added 14 points, shooting 10-11 from the free throw line. Tobe Awaka added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Koa Peat finished with 11 points on 5-8 from the field.
The Wildcats from Tucson shot 36-63 (57.1%) from the field, while allowing the visiting Wildcats to connect on 25-52 (48.1%) of their attempts. Both teams had similar numbers from deep, each connecting on nine-made triples. Arizona used its size inside, out-rebounding Bethune-Cookman 42-22, including a 15-4 offensive rebounding margin. Speaking of size, the UA had nearly double the paint points as BCU, with a 50-26 edge.
Both teams had some difficulty taking care of the basketball – Arizona turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 17 points for Bethune-Cookman, but turned 22 forced turnovers into 36 points on the other end.
The hometown Wildcats never trailed in the contest. After being tied at 10 apiece five minutes into the game, Arizona used a 12-0 run inside the last five minutes of the first half to take a double-digit lead. Arizona ended the first half on a 19-9 run. With 2:23 to play in the first frame, freshman Mabil Mawut was issued double technical fouls after a bench interference penalty and was ejected from the game.
The beginning of the second half was back and forth, before Brayden Burries took the game over. After a 6-0 run by the visiting Wildcats three minutes into the second half, Burries scored 12 of Arizona’s next 18 points, extending the UA’s lead above 20 points. Arizona’s 107 points are the most it has scored this season and second time it has eclipsed 100 points, after defeating Denver 103-73 in late November.
Arizona’s 12-0 start is also the best under fifth-year head coach Tommy Lloyd, who started 11-0 in his first season at the helm in 2021.
Up next, the hometown Wildcats will get a short break to spend Christmas with their families, before returning to practice on Friday, December 26, before hosting South Dakota State on December 29 at 7:00 PM MST in the final non-conference game of the season.