Arizona Basketball bounces back, dominates Cal in 71-50 win
TUCSON, AZ – Following their loss to Stanford on Thursday evening, Arizona Basketball (13-4, 7-4) returned to action on Saturday afternoon, dominating Cal (7-12, 2-10) in their 71-50 win.
It was a long week for the Arizona Basketball team. After beating rival Arizona State on Monday evening, and dropping a heartbreaker to an undermanned Stanford team on Thursday evening, the Wildcats responded by notching a dominating win over Cal on Saturday afternoon.
Led by the play of James Akinjo who scored 20 points and dished out eight assists, it was truly a team effort, however, as Jordan Brown and Azoulas Tubelis each finished with 12 points respectively.
Arizona Wildcats
Despite being ice-cold from the field in the first few minutes of the game, the Wildcats eventually came alive at the 13:31 mark, going on a 19-7 run over the next six-plus minutes to pull ahead 25-9 with 6:40 to play.
Cal would begin to respond in the first half, but it was ultimately the Wildcats that controlled this one. Using efficient offense, and lockdown defense, Arizona ended the half with a comfortable, 37-22 lead. The second half would be even more dominating.
Opening the half on an 18-8 run, the Wildcats would eventually push their lead to as many as 29 (their largest of the game), when Akinjo would connect on yet another three-pointer, his second of the game with 7:36 to play.
From there, the Cats coasted, finishing the game being outscored 14-6 with head coach Sean Miller using the deeper parts of his bench.
The lightly-used freshman Tibet Gorener even checked in with just over five minutes to play. Playing for three minutes, Tibet would register zero points on zero shots.
Arizona would eventually coast to the 71-50 win, improving to 13-4 (7-4) on the year with a matchup at Utah and at Colorado looming.
Luckily for Arizona, the Wildcats will finally have freshman Kerr Kriisa who will make his highly anticipated debut this week!
Watch head coach Sean Miller in his press conference following the win!
More. On Arizona Basketball. light
At Zona Zealots, we’re happy to see the Wildcats get back on track and can’t wait for the debut of Kerr! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!