No. 9 Arizona Basketball dominates Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

TUCSON, AZ – Kerr-less, No. 9 Arizona Basketball (9-1, 1-1) dominated visiting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-5) by a 99-61 final.

Returning to action following their huge win over No. 14 Indiana this past Saturday, No. 9 Arizona Basketball picked up right where they left off as they took on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Coming in, the Wildcats were heavily favored, and rightfully so! After all, Arizona looked great on Saturday evening in their win over the Hoosiers, and matchup-wise, the Wildcats had a clear advantage over the visiting Islanders.

Even with Kerr Kriisa leaving the game early due to an apparent stomach bug, luckily, the Wildcats’ bench stepped up in a big way, scoring 51 of the teams’ 99 points.

Collectively, Arizona shot 56.7 percent from the field including 55.6 percent from three as Arizona came away with a convincing, 99-61 win.

Azuolas Tubelis had a big day, scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds on 9-16 shooting, meanwhile, freshman big man Henri Veesaar scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed four rebounds while shooting a perfect 5-5 for the field. Oumar Ballo and Cedric Henderson Jr. each scored 13 points and 11 points respectively.

No. 9 Arizona Basketball gained the early lead, and a big second half by the Cats propelled them in their lopsided win.

Arizona may have dominated this game overall, but things didn’t necessarily start so pretty. Battling neck-and-neck, Kerr Kriisa would leave the game early due to an apparent stomach bug, and would not return.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi would take the lead at 25-24 after a made jumper from Ross Williams with 7:28 to play. But luckily that wouldn’t last long as the Wildcats then responded with a 15-3 run to make it 39-28, Arizona.

Back-to-back made threes by the Islanders cut Arizona’s lead down to seven; however, Arizona responded with a 6-0 run to close out the half and take a 47-34 lead at halftime.

Picking up right where they left off in the second half, Arizona’s offensive barrage continued, opening the half on a 12-5 run to take a commanding, 59-39 lead.

Using their size, talent, and skill to suffocate the Islanders, Arizona’s bench went to work, pushing their lead 24, then 26, and eventually 38 as the Wildcats came away with the dominant, 99-61 win!

With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 9-1 (1-1) on the season and will resume basketball action on Saturday when they take on No. 6 Tennessee in McKale Center. Tip-off for Saturday’s marquee game against the Volunteers is set for 8:30 PM MST.

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