Arizona opens its 2018-19 season Wednesday night with a game against Houston Baptist. The Huskies were one of the worst teams in college basketball last season, so it should be an easier game for the Wildcats. The focus tonight will be on just how the Wildcats play in this game with Maui coming up quick in a couple weeks.
Pregame
- As expected Ira Lee will not play in tonight's game as he serves his one-game suspension for his offseason citation for DUI.
- The rim actually had a malfunction pregame so the start of this one has been delayed about 20 minutes, so just a heads up on that.
UA starters: Justin Coleman, Brandon Williams, Brandon Randolph, Ryan Luther, Chase Jeter
HBU starters: Ian DuBose, Philip McKenzie, Edward Hardt, Oliver Lynch-Daniels, Braxton Bonds
1st half
- Brandon Randolph opens up the scoring with a 3-pointer from the top of the key; Coleman finds Chase Jeter for the jam with a nifty bounce pass as the Wildcats take a 5-point lead; Randolph gets a layup on a putback and UA goes up 7-0 to start this game; DuBose with a bucket as the fans finally get to sit down at McKale Center [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 7 HBU 2 - 15:27]
- Williams hits two free throws out of the timeout to push the UA lead some more; Lynch-Daniels hits a turnaround jumper for HBU; Justin Coleman gets to the basket for a nice layup [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 11 HBU 4 - 11:56]
- Alex Barcello hits a couple free throws for Arizona as the scoring has slowed way down for both teams during the last stretch; Jalen Gates gets a bucket to fall for HBU and the lead is down to seven points; Hardt gets fouled and makes one of his free throws to cut the lead once again; Randolph gets fouled going to the rim and makes one of two from the line; Arizona brings in Jake DesJardins and he gets a touch on his first trip down the floor and gets an easy bucket to fall; Gates hits two free throws after being fouled [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 16 HBU 9 - 7:58]
- Emmanuel Akot makes two free throws to extend the lead back out after the timeout; Gates hits a 3-pointer to trim the lead back down again; DesJardins hits a free throw to get it back up for the 'Cats; Hardt gets a bucket to fall after Arizona doesn't box him out; an intentional foul is called as Jeter goes up for a bucket and he makes one of the two free throws; some nice passing from UA with Barcello finding Williams in the corner for a 3-pointer; Benjamin Uloko hits a turnaround jumper on Jeter for HBU and the Huskies take a timeout; Luther with a nice pass to Akot down low for an easy bucket for UA; Uloko with another pretty easy bucket for HBU [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 25 HBU 18 - 3:35]
- Randolph hits a couple free throws out of the timeout; Uloko gets another bucket for HBU; Luther gets his first bucket of the game for the Wildcats to push the lead back up; Williams fouled and he hits both free throws; Bonds hist a couple free throws to cut into the UA lead; Randolph gets to the bucket and gets one to fall for his 10th point; Gates hits a couple free throws to cut the lead at the break
HALFTIME: Arizona 33 HBU 24
2nd half
- Jeter gets the scoring going for Arizona in the second half with a bucket as UA opens up the half with a double-digit lead; Hardt hits a couple free throws for HBU; UA's defense allows an offensive board and HBU gets the bucket from Lynch-Daniels; Luther hits a bucket for the Wildcats as the back and forth continues; Lynch-Daniels hits a 3-pointer from the left wing; Coleman gets a layup to fall as the game has picked up the pace here; Hardt gets tangled up with Jeter but somehow gets a shot to fall in the paint; the good start to the second half continues for Coleman who gets another bucket; Randolph gets a steal and gets fouled on the breakaway play but he makes both free throws [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 43 HBU 33 - 15:56]
- Akot hits a 3-pointer and it's only the third shot from deep made for UA in the game; Ryan Luther called for a flagrant foul but Jackson Stent misses both free throws; Arizona on a 9-0 run after a bucket from Jeter helps UA extend its lead [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 48 HBU 33 - 11:54]
- Williams hits a couple free throws for the Wildcats to push the lead up to 17 points; DuBose makes a layup to trim it back down by a couple points; Randolph hits a jumper before Coleman is fouled and he hits both free throws; Alex Barcello is fouled and he hits both free throws to make it a 21-point lead for the Wildcats; Bonds makes a layup to get the lead back down a couple points; Barcello hits a 3-pointer from the right wing and UA is up 22 points; UA on a 22-4 run after another bucket for Randolph who has 16 points to lead the Wildcats; Lynch-Daniels gets a bucket to fall as UA leads it by 22 still [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 61 HBU 39 - 7:45]
- McKenzie gets his first point of the game from the free-throw line; Randolph hits another 3-pointer as his hot start to the season continues and UA is up 24; Lynch-Daniels makes one of two from the line; Jeter with a big dunk for the Wildcats after having a big rebound just before that; Uloko hits a jumper to cut back into the UA lead; Jeter gets fouled and hits both free throws and he now has 11 points to go with 10 rebounds; Luther gets a tough bucket to fall and gets the foul call as well but misses the free throw; Devonaire Doutrive gets in the game and hits a 3-pointer from the right corner; after a bucket from HBU, Williams takes it hard to the basket and gets the bucket; Stent hits a 3-pointer for the Huskies [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 77 HBU 49
- Randolph hits a couple free throws out of the timeout and he now has 21 points for UA; McKenzie hits a bucket for HBU; Randolph with a layup off the pass from Doutrive; Randolph with a couple more points on a bucket in the paint; McKenzie with a layup and the lead is 30 points for the Wildcats; Doutrive with a layup of his own as he has been quick to score in his limited time on the floor; Gates hits a 3-pointer for the Huskies; Dylan Smith hits a 3-pointer for the 'Cats as the team has emptied the bench; Matt Weyand gets a bucket as he comes in off the bench; Stephen O'Suji hits a jumper for HBU here with about a minute to go; Smith with another bucket and he gets the foul as well and he hits the free throw; Nick Jones gets a bucket to fall
Final: Arizona 90 HBU 60
Pregame
- As expected Ira Lee will not play in tonight's game as he serves his one-game suspension for his offseason citation for DUI.
- The rim actually had a malfunction pregame so the start of this one has been delayed about 20 minutes, so just a heads up on that.
UA starters: Justin Coleman, Brandon Williams, Brandon Randolph, Ryan Luther, Chase Jeter
HBU starters: Ian DuBose, Philip McKenzie, Edward Hardt, Oliver Lynch-Daniels, Braxton Bonds
1st half
- Brandon Randolph opens up the scoring with a 3-pointer from the top of the key; Coleman finds Chase Jeter for the jam with a nifty bounce pass as the Wildcats take a 5-point lead; Randolph gets a layup on a putback and UA goes up 7-0 to start this game; DuBose with a bucket as the fans finally get to sit down at McKale Center [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 7 HBU 2 - 15:27]
- Williams hits two free throws out of the timeout to push the UA lead some more; Lynch-Daniels hits a turnaround jumper for HBU; Justin Coleman gets to the basket for a nice layup [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 11 HBU 4 - 11:56]
- Alex Barcello hits a couple free throws for Arizona as the scoring has slowed way down for both teams during the last stretch; Jalen Gates gets a bucket to fall for HBU and the lead is down to seven points; Hardt gets fouled and makes one of his free throws to cut the lead once again; Randolph gets fouled going to the rim and makes one of two from the line; Arizona brings in Jake DesJardins and he gets a touch on his first trip down the floor and gets an easy bucket to fall; Gates hits two free throws after being fouled [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 16 HBU 9 - 7:58]
- Emmanuel Akot makes two free throws to extend the lead back out after the timeout; Gates hits a 3-pointer to trim the lead back down again; DesJardins hits a free throw to get it back up for the 'Cats; Hardt gets a bucket to fall after Arizona doesn't box him out; an intentional foul is called as Jeter goes up for a bucket and he makes one of the two free throws; some nice passing from UA with Barcello finding Williams in the corner for a 3-pointer; Benjamin Uloko hits a turnaround jumper on Jeter for HBU and the Huskies take a timeout; Luther with a nice pass to Akot down low for an easy bucket for UA; Uloko with another pretty easy bucket for HBU [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 25 HBU 18 - 3:35]
- Randolph hits a couple free throws out of the timeout; Uloko gets another bucket for HBU; Luther gets his first bucket of the game for the Wildcats to push the lead back up; Williams fouled and he hits both free throws; Bonds hist a couple free throws to cut into the UA lead; Randolph gets to the bucket and gets one to fall for his 10th point; Gates hits a couple free throws to cut the lead at the break
HALFTIME: Arizona 33 HBU 24
2nd half
- Jeter gets the scoring going for Arizona in the second half with a bucket as UA opens up the half with a double-digit lead; Hardt hits a couple free throws for HBU; UA's defense allows an offensive board and HBU gets the bucket from Lynch-Daniels; Luther hits a bucket for the Wildcats as the back and forth continues; Lynch-Daniels hits a 3-pointer from the left wing; Coleman gets a layup to fall as the game has picked up the pace here; Hardt gets tangled up with Jeter but somehow gets a shot to fall in the paint; the good start to the second half continues for Coleman who gets another bucket; Randolph gets a steal and gets fouled on the breakaway play but he makes both free throws [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 43 HBU 33 - 15:56]
- Akot hits a 3-pointer and it's only the third shot from deep made for UA in the game; Ryan Luther called for a flagrant foul but Jackson Stent misses both free throws; Arizona on a 9-0 run after a bucket from Jeter helps UA extend its lead [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 48 HBU 33 - 11:54]
- Williams hits a couple free throws for the Wildcats to push the lead up to 17 points; DuBose makes a layup to trim it back down by a couple points; Randolph hits a jumper before Coleman is fouled and he hits both free throws; Alex Barcello is fouled and he hits both free throws to make it a 21-point lead for the Wildcats; Bonds makes a layup to get the lead back down a couple points; Barcello hits a 3-pointer from the right wing and UA is up 22 points; UA on a 22-4 run after another bucket for Randolph who has 16 points to lead the Wildcats; Lynch-Daniels gets a bucket to fall as UA leads it by 22 still [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 61 HBU 39 - 7:45]
- McKenzie gets his first point of the game from the free-throw line; Randolph hits another 3-pointer as his hot start to the season continues and UA is up 24; Lynch-Daniels makes one of two from the line; Jeter with a big dunk for the Wildcats after having a big rebound just before that; Uloko hits a jumper to cut back into the UA lead; Jeter gets fouled and hits both free throws and he now has 11 points to go with 10 rebounds; Luther gets a tough bucket to fall and gets the foul call as well but misses the free throw; Devonaire Doutrive gets in the game and hits a 3-pointer from the right corner; after a bucket from HBU, Williams takes it hard to the basket and gets the bucket; Stent hits a 3-pointer for the Huskies [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 77 HBU 49
- Randolph hits a couple free throws out of the timeout and he now has 21 points for UA; McKenzie hits a bucket for HBU; Randolph with a layup off the pass from Doutrive; Randolph with a couple more points on a bucket in the paint; McKenzie with a layup and the lead is 30 points for the Wildcats; Doutrive with a layup of his own as he has been quick to score in his limited time on the floor; Gates hits a 3-pointer for the Huskies; Dylan Smith hits a 3-pointer for the 'Cats as the team has emptied the bench; Matt Weyand gets a bucket as he comes in off the bench; Stephen O'Suji hits a jumper for HBU here with about a minute to go; Smith with another bucket and he gets the foul as well and he hits the free throw; Nick Jones gets a bucket to fall
Final: Arizona 90 HBU 60
