During Saturday's game against Cal Baptist (8-3), No. 8 Arizona (11-0) got off to a rocky start and fell behind 18-7, but the Wildcats turned things around, winning the game 84-60 over the Lancers.
"We came out, and we were pressing a little bit early," said coach Tommy Lloyd on the slow start to the game. "I think we had one possession where we had two traps right in front of our bench, and then the ball got out, and the guy was in the corner and when we didn't have a defender and I don't know if there was no rotation there or just nobody there and then they made it.
"Then I think we had another one at the end of a press and those are half on me and half on the guys. Because I want to be aggressive, and If those threes miss early and you miss a corner three, there's probably a good chance we're running it down at the other end. So it's just trying to set tempo and pace in the game and in sometimes it works. You look great and sometimes it doesn't work and don't look so great. But I thought our guys did a really good job of settling in after that first 10 to 12 minutes and asserting our will and executing our game plan."
Arizona was able to slow down CBU's offense and held the Lancers to 33% shooting from the field and 30% from the 3-point line.
The defensive turnaround started with the frontcourt for the Wildcats as centers Christian Koloko and Oumar Ballo sparked the defense with nine combined block shots.
Arizona finished with a season-high 12 blocks as a team, which led to 19 fast-break points in a game where the defense helped set up the offense for easy buckets.
"I feel like it's a pretty good relief," said guard Benn Mathurin who finished with 14 points. When you get beat on the back door, you don't really have to worry about your player making a layup because we have great shot blockers. So I feel like it's just a good feeling and relief."
The two UA big men affected the game on the defensive side of the floor, but Koloko and Ballo both finished with a double-double combining for 22 points and 20 rebounds.
For Ballo, it was his first career double-double and he went 5 for 6 from the field.
"There's no doubt if Oumar starts playing like that, it opens up a lot of doors," Lloyd said. "But you know, I told Oumar, and it's not always easy for a guy to hear. If you want more, you have to do more. And while you want more, you need to be working really hard.
"And he has been working hard. I mean, you guys can see how his body's changing. His conditioning is getting better. But just because you want something more doesn't mean it's going to happen every day. And when it doesn't happen. You got to handle it with maturity and be a professional and I thought he did that."
The game was dictated in the frontcourt for Arizona not only by Koloko and Ballo, who dominated the paint, but forward Azuolas Tubelis scored a team-high 19 points while going 7 for 16 from the field.
"I love having a well-balanced team, and I don't mind having a go-to leading scorer. But, sometimes, the way we play the ball finds different guys on different nights," Lloyd said. "Azoulas really asserted his dominance early in that second half which allowed us to break the game."
Arizona finished the game shooting 51% from the field and went 9 for 22 from the 3-point line. The Wildcats dominated the battle in the paint scoring 48 points while holding CBU to 22 points.
Arizona will finish its nonconference schedule with a road matchup against No. 18 Tennessee (8-2) this Wednesday with the game being televised by ESPN2 at 5 p.m. (MST).
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