Even when it doesn’t count, San Diego State always proves to be a hard out.
Arizona shook off poor shooting and plenty of defensive breakdowns to beat the Aztecs 82-67 on Friday night in an exhibition game at ALKEME Arena at McKale Center. The contest was eerily similar to the teams’ meeting last December in Phoenix, one that saw the Wildcats struggle offensively for much of the game before pulling away and winning comfortably.
The UA had six players in double figures led by Motiejus Krivas, who finished with 17 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and two in 29 minutes. Ivan Kharchenkov had 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Caleb Holt scored 15, Derek Dixon and JJ Mandaquit went for 12 apiece and Maksim Brnovic added 10.
Brnovic, who was 4 of 5 from the field, had a particularly flashy stretch midway through the first half when he hit a 3, got a steal and then did his best Michael Jordan impression with a one-handed dunk in transition.
But he was the only Wildcat to make more than half his field goal attempts, as the UA shot 34.7 percent overall and 26.5 percent from 3. It made up for that by getting to the line 28 times, making 21, and also had a 49-38 edge in rebounding including plus-12 on the offensive glass.
San Diego State, which was missing three projected rotation players due to injury, shot 40 percent and made 5 of 16 3-pointers. Oregon State transfer Isaiah Sy had 17 points and was 7 of 11 from the field for the Aztecs, who turned it over 16 times with the UA collecting 13 steals.
Arizona led 40-32 at halftime after trailing by as many as six. The Wildcats shot 33.3 percent before halftime, going 3 of 17 from 3, but in the first eight-plus minutes of the second half made 5 of 9 from 3. A triple by Brnovic, which rolled around and in, put the UA up 62-46 with 11:39 to go.
The UA got the lead up to 19 before becoming incredibly lazy with the ball, allowing SDSU to score eight in a row to get within 70-59 with 5:56 left.
Arizona missed nine straight shots at one point in the first half, enabling San Diego State to go on a 12-0 run and build a 25-20 lead. The Aztecs extended that to 30-24 with 5:31 left in the first half before the Wildcats responded with their own kill shot.
A 14-0 run, that included eight free throws from three different players, put the UA up 38-30. They finished the first half on a 18-4 run over the final 6:04.
Arizona’s final exhibition is set for Oct. 23 at home against Eastern Washington. The Eagles are coached by Dan Monson, who initially hired Tommy Lloyd at Gonzaga more than 25 years ago.