Unselfishness is key in Arizona Basketball win over Colorado
TUCSON, AZ – It was a complete game effort for the Wildcats as the Arizona Basketball team (7-1, 1-1) came away with the conference win over Colorado (6-2, 0-1).
Facing yet another real test early in the season, the Arizona Basketball team returned to the court on Monday evening against Colorado with a tough challenge at hand.
Led by the unselfish play of James Akinjo, the former Georgetown guard really sparked the Wildcats to the 88-74 win, finishing his day with 22 points and eight assists.
Arizona Wildcats
Arizona would have four other players in double-figures, as Jemarl Baker, Jr. would have 14 points, Terrell Brown, Jr. 12 points, Jordan Brown 10 points, and Christian Koloko 10 points (career-high).
The Wildcats would have 20 assists to just eight turnovers, also connecting on 30-57 from the field (8-17 from three).
Initially expecting a defensive showdown coming into this one, boy, were we in for a surprise, as much of the first half turned out to be a barn burner.
Exchanging buckets for most of the first half, the Wildcats found their stride in the final 4:06, going on a 10-3 run to close out the half, that was punctuated by a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Akinjo nearly from half-court.
The second half is where the Wildcats tightened things up defensively. Attacking the Colorado defense, and continuing to hit their shots, Arizona really exploded in the second half, extending their lead to as many as 17 at one point.
The Wildcats would force eight Colorado turnovers which led to 10 points, and Arizona would also excel in transition basketball, scoring 10 points on the fast-break as well.
Overall, it was a complete game effort, and for a team that is still learning how to play with each other, this was a great win that could be big for them down the road.
Following the teams’ 14-point win, Arizona head coach Sean Miller was quite complimentary of his team, believing that this was his teams’ best performance of the season so far. “We had an energy about us on offense.”
Listen to what coach Miller had to say in his press conference…
At Zona Zealots, we’re proud of the way the team battled tonight and can’t wait to see how this group continues to develop. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!