Seattle grad transfer Terrell Brown Jr. had his best game at Arizona with 16 points and six assists as the balanced Wildcats cruised past Cal State Bakersfield 85-60 on Wednesday night in Tucson, Ariz.
Brown, who scored a total of 10 points in the first three games this season, had 11 at halftime Wednesday and finished 4 of 8 from 3-point range. He averaged 20.7 points at Seattle last season.
Arizona (4-0) led by 20 points at halftime and was never challenged in the second half, with five players producing double-figure point totals. Jemarl Baker Jr. and Bennedict Mathurin each scored 15 points, and they were followed by Azuolas Tubelis (12) and Dalen Terry (10).
James Akinjo added eight points and seven assists for the Wildcats, who stayed unbeaten through an early slate on non-major conference opponents.
Cal State Bakersfield (1-2) was led by Cameron Smith with 11 points and De'Monte Buckingham with 10. Ronne Readus contributed nine rebounds.
The Wildcats used their superior athleticism in transition and shared the ball well, with 21 assists on 27 made baskets, often getting good looks from beyond the arc. Arizona drained 12 of 28 3-point attempts.
Cal State Bakersfield used a physical post game to stay close early. The Roadrunners hit six of their first seven shots from the field and were only down 19-17 midway through the first half.
Arizona stepped up its on-ball pressure after that, denying entry passes and turning steals into easy baskets. The Wildcats used a 14-2 run to go up 33-19 and expanded the lead to 22 points before taking a 46-26 edge into the break.
The Wildcats finished the game with nine steals and 16 points off turnovers, compared to just five points off turnovers for the Roadrunners.
Arizona freshman Kerr Kriisa has not played this season while he awaits NCAA clearance, but he rejoined the team for Wednesday's game after being in quarantine following a recent trip to his home county of Estonia.
--Field Level Media
CSU Bakersfield | Arizona | |
Cameron Smith 11 | Scoring | Terrell Brown Jr. 16 |
Czar Perry 4 | Assists | James Akinjo 7 |
Ronne Readus 9 | Rebounds | Christian Koloko 6 |
De'Monte Buckingham 5 | Free Throws Made | Azuolas Tubelis 9 |
De'Monte Buckingham 1 | Steals | James Akinjo 3 |
Justin McCall 1 | Blocks | Christian Koloko 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
CSU Bakersfield | 60 | 40.4 | 4-17 | 14-21 | 11 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 13 |
Arizona | 85 | 48.2 | 12-28 | 19-21 | 21 | 33 | 7 | 9 | 10 |