A year ago, Arizona used an exhibition win over a West Coast Conference team to set the stage for a return to the Final Four. Might a repeat be in store?
The Wildcats had no trouble with visiting San Francisco in a 93-69 win on Tuesday night at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. They built a double-digit lead less than five minutes in and never looked back.
Motiejus Krivas scored 20 points, Ivan Kharchenkov had 18, Caleb Holt scored 17 in his collegiate debut and Derek Dixon added 10 in his first game as a Wildcat. Ten different players scored for Arizona, which shot 53.2 percent overall along with 6 of 18 from 3 and 21 of 28 from the foul line.
The Wildcats held San Francisco to 45 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers, leading to 25 points.
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The UA led 52-34 at halftime and then kind of played with its food for most of the second half, the lead never dipping below 14 with 10:40 left. The Wildcats answered with a 15-4 run including nine straight to go up 82-57 with 5:06 to go.
Arizona went with the same starting five as in its final two games in Lithuania, withKharchenkov at the 4 alongsideKrivasand a 3-guard backcourt of Dixon, Holtand Bryce James. James drained a 3-pointer from the corner off a Kharchenkov drive and dish to open the scoring, giving the Zona Zoo something early to post on socials.
With RJ Godfrey unavailable as he awaits more clarity on his eligibility, the frontcourt substitutions were the most noteworthy. Krivas played 14 minutes in the first half, subbed the first time by Nebraska transfer Ugnius Jarusevicius and later by Idaho State transfer Evan Otten.
The most unusual lineup Arizona went with, coming out of the first media timeout, had Cameron Holmes, Washington transfer JJ Mandaquit and Kharchenkov in the backcourt with freshman Maksim Brnovic and Jarusevicius in the frontcourt.
Mandaquit was the top scorer off the bench, with eight in 18 minutes, while Holmes had six (along with five rebounds and three assists) and Brnovic scored five.
San Francisco listed 11 freshmen on its roster and started three, but that included 23-year-old Danish wing Gustav Knudsen and 21-year-old Argentinian guard Dylan Bordon. Bordon was a handful, scoring 22 with 18 in the first half.
The second of three exhibitions is Friday against San Diego State, whom Arizona beat 68-45 in Phoenix last December.