Arizona freshman power forward Zeke Nnaji scored 26 points and was perfect from the field as the 19th-ranked Wildcats pulled away for an 87-39 victory over San Jose State on Thursday night in Tucson, Ariz.
Nnaji made all eight of his attempts from the floor and shot 10 of 12 from the free-throw line. He also pulled down 11 rebounds in 21 minutes for his first double-double.
Arizona (3-0) went on a 24-2 run soon after San Jose State (1-2) had trimmed its deficit to 14 with 14:44 left.
The Wildcats were able to use their depth, with eight players scoring at least six points. Sophomore guard Devonaire Doutrive, making his season debut after serving a two-game suspension for a violation of team rules, scored a career-high 12 points off the bench.
Jemarl Baker had nine points and five assists. Ira Lee had six points and eight rebounds. Stone Gettings had seven points and four boards. All came off the bench.
San Jose State shot just 23.0 percent from the field (14 of 61), including 2 of 18 from 3-point range. Eduardo Lane scored a team-high nine points.
The Wildcats finished with 24 assists on 30 baskets. They have at least 18 assists in three consecutive games for the first time since November 2007.
Arizona came out flat after leading by 22 points at halftime, committing five turnovers before the first media timeout.
The Spartans went on a 9-0 run to close within 40-26 before Doutrive hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 13:30 left for the Wildcats' first basket of the half. That sparked Arizona, which went on its big run after a basket by SJSU's Craig LeCesne and led 64-28 with 7:12 left after a layup by Nnaji.
Highlight plays in the run included two fast-break dunks by Josh Green, one off an alley-oop pass from Baker and another after a lead pass from Nico Mannion.
Gettings scored five points in the final two minutes of the first half as the Wildcats closed on a 22-5 run during which the Spartans made only 2 of 17 shots. Nnaji had 12 points at halftime on 5-of-5 shooting as Arizona led 39-17.
--Field Level Media
San Jose St. | Arizona | |
Eduardo Lane 9 | Scoring | Zeke Nnaji 26 |
Ralph Agee 1 | Assists | Jemarl Baker Jr. 5 |
Ralph Agee 7 | Rebounds | Zeke Nnaji 11 |
Christian Anigwe 3 | Free Throws Made | Zeke Nnaji 10 |
Christian Anigwe 1 | Steals | Josh Green 2 |
Christian Anigwe 1 | Blocks | Stone Gettings 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
San Jose St. | 39 | 23.0 | 2-18 | 9-18 | 5 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 18 |
Arizona | 87 | 48.4 | 8-18 | 19-28 | 24 | 47 | 4 | 6 | 8 |