Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats picked up where they left off in their third home game against Utah Tech, dominating the Trailblazers in a 104-77 win. Arizona's starting five all scored in double figures with point guard Kerr Kriisa leading the way with a career-high 24 points.
It took the Wildcats only 90 seconds to ‘wake up’ after making mental mistakes before taking a deep breath and starting off their momentum with a 3-pointer by Kriisa—igniting the crowd—assisting his team in a 29-7 run in the first ten minutes of the game.
Arizona (3-0) was perfect from the free throw line, shooting 22 of 22, which set a program record for most consecutive free throws made in a game. The Wildcats can use this as a tool that can help the team down the road against tougher opponents if they stay consistent.
"We value free throws," Lloyd said. "It's a big part of what we do and to see guys step up and make them at that clip is huge, it's probably not going to happen every night, but I think overall we can be a really good free throw shooting team."
Kriisa once again made a new Wildcat personal accolade after recording his first triple-double last game, scoring 24 points on 6 of 7 shooting. Arizona’s floor general also tallied four rebounds and five assists, as well as showcased his defensive presence, recording two steals and drawing a charge in the second half.
"I tell him shoot more," Lloyd noted. "He's such a good player, he can involve others so easily, sometimes I think he's turning down open shots for himself.'
Plus, all of Kriisa's shots came from the 3-point line which has raised his season shooting percentage to 70% from the field on 17 shots.
"[There is] nothing much to say, [when the] ball goes in, it's fun to play," Kriisa said.
Arizona was firing on all cylinders on both ends of the floor in the first half, with junior Oumar Ballo delivering two massive blocks, getting the crowd involved, and Cedric Henderson Jr. showing off his shooting prowess scoring 10 points with a pair of threes, helping the Cats take a 49-21 halftime lead.
This was a statement game from Henderson Jr., who finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and a soul-crushing alley-oop reception late in the game to send Arizona fans walking out of McKale center with a smile on their faces. This performance could help give earn him more minutes down the line once guard Courtney Ramey returns from his suspension next Monday.
It was also clear that Lloyd emphasized defense at practice this last week, with Arizona holding Utah Tech to 36% shooting from the field. Ballo illustrated this defensive intensity to the Trailblazers' neophyte center Tanner Christensen when bodying him on his driving attempt and forcing him to put up a low-percentage fadeaway shot in the post.
Ballo ended his night recording a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds while collecting two blocked shots.
Despite Arizona’s sense of control on offense, outscoring its last three opponents by an average of 28.6 points, t its lackadaisical passes and turnovers have shaken the heads of the Wildcat faithful, turning the ball over 62 times, raising the question of what needs to be adjusted throughout Lloyd’s system.
“We need to reel it in and get that number closer to 12,” Lloyd said. “It seems like there are happening in a number of areas and from a number of individuals. What I don’t want to do is [us] be conservative and make our players tentative. We’re going to teach with an open throttle.”
Arizona will get ready to travel to Hawaii to play in the Maui Invitational next Monday Nov. 21 at 9:30 p.m. (MST) with the game being televised on ESPN2.
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