Trey Townsend hot shooting leads Arizona in exhibition over Eastern New Mexico

Trey Townsend led a 12-0 Arizona run after Eastern New Mexico scored the first two point of the game as the Wildcats beat the Division II Greyhounds 117-54 in the first game of the 2024-25 season on Monday night at McKale Center. Townsend finished with 22 points and five rebounds in his Arizona debut.

Townsend shot 8-11 from the floor, made 4-5 three-point attempts and 4-4 free throws. Henri Veesar scored 19 points, Tobe Awaka had 14, Anthony Dell'Orso and K.J. Lewis had 11 and Caleb Love 10 as the other Arizona players in double figures. Jaden Bradley scored eight points and Carter Bryant and Conrad Martinez had seven each.

Arizona overwhelmed Eastern New Mexico as effective. Awaka led Arizona with 15 rebounds. Arizona outrebounded Eastern New Mexico 47-24. The Wildcats finished 38-60 from the floor, 14-26 on three-point attempts and 27-35 from the free throw line. ENMU shot 32 percent from the floor and 3-18 on threes.

Arizona play-by-play announcer Brian Jeffries named Henri Veesaar the Player of the Game with 19 points on eight of nine from the floor and had three rebounds and one assist. Arizona started Awake, Bradley, Lewis, Love and Townsend. Center Motiejus Krivas was out with an ankle injury for Arizona.

Eastern New Mexico was the first of two exhibition games for Arizona. Arizona hosts Point Loma on October 28. Eastern New Mexico and Point Loma are both NCAA Division II programs. Arizona will be the first game of the 2024-25 season for Point Loma. San Diego State hosted Point Loma in an exhibition game in 2023.

Arizona will begin its regular season on November 4 versus Canisius at McKale Center with a 8:00 PM Mountain Standard Time Tipoff. Arizona will play its first game of the season versus a Power Conference opponent on November 15 at Wisconsin was picked in a tie for 12th in the Big 10 preseason poll with Nebraska.