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Arizona Wildcats Basketball: Wildcats Dominate in Exhibition Game

By Shereen Rayan

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A little too close for comfort in the first half but the Arizona Wildcats basketball team beat the Chico State Wildcats decisively tonight with a bunch of nice surprises.

Final Score: Arizona   90   Chico State   54

Since this was an exhibition game, one would assume that this game was going to be a blow-out early on. Even though that was not to be, Arizona warmed up eventually and didn’t disappoint fans with four players scoring in double digits.

It wasn’t clear if the ZonaZoo showed up or not, the traditional group instructions given to the opposing team could not necessarily be heard over televisions sets. That was until the ‘Chico is not a state’ chant began, entertaining the fans and the media alike.

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A major visible difference between the two teams which folks could not help but point out were the many hair-dos of the Chico State players. Their doos were free-flowing and each unique; buns, headbands, curls bobbing, you name it. Bun Guy even dunked on Gabe York.

In the first half, as soon as the starters got their first break, the bench came in and struggled a bit. The Wildcats biggest lead was only 13 points in the first half, dipping to single digits at times, then returning to a 13 point surplus at the end of the half. It was a tad worrisome at halftime, at that point it was anyone’s game.

The bench players had to pick it up in the second half if the team was going to win decisively.

Ten out of eleven players had scored for Arizona versus only five for Chico State, a seemingly big difference between the two teams. Miraculously the difference in the score was only 13 points. At the end of the first half, Chico State was also in a bit of foul trouble with two players racking up three fouls each.

It took awhile, but with a combination of starters and bench players the Wildcats finally pulled away but not until the second half.

  • 3:04 into the second half, Arizona dipped into a single digit lead, then came back up by 13 once again; 43-30
  • 7:51 into the second half, Arizona added one more point to their max, up by 14 points; 53-39
  • 8:16 into the second half, Arizona’s Parker Jackson-Cartwright made both free-throws taking the team to a 16 point lead; 55-39
  • 9:23 into the second half, Gabe York finally hit the team’s first three-pointer, Arizona up by 19; 58-39 – This play ended the team’s three-point drought and catapulted the Wildcats to a win. It took a grueling 29 minutes and 23 seconds.

For the next 11 minutes and 37 seconds, the Wildcats took off and never looked back, beating Chico State 90-54. For a little while, the Cats weren’t rebounding much but that evened out by the end of the half at about 21/22 total.

Gabe York showed he was a seasoned college basketball player who played with no fear. He played 23 minutes and scored 13 points adding six rebounds and two assists to the team’s total.

The rest of the game Arizona put on a show for the hometown crowd; dunks, passing, assists, they made it look easy. Let’s look at some of the highlights.

Ryan Anderson missed only one shot the entire game, scoring on eight of nine shots for 19 points, two assists, three blocks and ten rebounds. Anderson caught an in bounds lob from Mark Tollefsen and slammed down a one-handed dunk for the play of the game.

https://twitter.com/Pac12Networks/status/663542504525045760

Senior leader Kaleb Tarczewski came out strong. Zeus didn’t look hurt at all, he rebounded and slammed dunks with a ton of confidence. Hoping to squash the ‘soft’ talk about his play, he did just that. Zeus scored twelve points, made four rebounds and added two steals on the night.

Tollefsen is a definite presence on the court with his size and defense and even though he only scored four points tonight, two of those points were quite exciting.

https://twitter.com/Pac12Networks/status/663548791056957440

Allonzo Trier warmed up as he played. Trier played point guard and scored 13 points in 25 minutes, adding six rebounds and three assists. His first dunk was splendid. And fans welcomed Allonzo to Tucson.

One of Trier’s assists went to his fellow freshman teammate Justin Simon, who played for only eight minutes, but in those eight minutes he made two huge dunks. Welcome to Tucson Justin!

Chance Comanche did not disappoint in this game. Comanche played nine minutes, made four rebounds and two points, but those two points were made on a one-handed monster slam dunk on a pick and roll play with fellow freshman Trier.

We cannot forget to mention Kadeem Allen. He started at point guard over Parker Jackson-Cartwright (PJC) and scored five points in 15 minutes. What sets Allen apart is his defense, and he showed up on defense.

PJC lead the team in steals he made three of them in the game, and what game would be complete without one of his signature baseline-to-baseline layups? Jackson-Cartwright did not disappoint the fans and delivered on that play as well.

Last but certainly not least, how did Dusan Ristic and Elliott Pitts do? Ristic tied Trier for the teams second highest rebounds making six total, adding seven points. One thing we did notice is that Ristic lost the ball a couple of times under the basket, it would have been nice to see him take the ball and slam it in a couple of times, he seemed to go for soft lay-ups. Pitts was active, adding energy from the bench he made three assists and scored a bucket.

Next: Arizona Wildcats Basketball Begins This Weekend, Are you Ready?

Head coach Sean Miller spent most of the game sitting on the bench, we didn’t see much of him on with one knee on the court yelling instructions. He seemed relatively calm tonight.

It feels like a fun basketball season is upon us Wildcats fans.

Beardown!

What do you think about the Wildcats first outing? Let us know in the comments below.

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