National Basketball Association
Arizona 94, Central Michigan 41
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 21, 2024
Where: McKale Memorial Center, Tucson, Arizona
Officials:
# Tyler Kumpf, # Ray Natili, # Frank Harvey
Attendance:
13093
By Field Level Media
Caleb Love scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half to lead Arizona to a 94-41 victory Saturday over visiting Central Michigan in the Wildcats' last nonconference game before Big 12 play starts.
KJ Lewis had 13 points off the bench for Arizona (6-5), which has won consecutive games ahead of its conference opener against visiting TCU on Dec. 30. Tobe Awaka had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats.
The Chippewas (5-6) did not have a double-figure scorer until Cayden Vasko made a 3-pointer with 6:57 left, giving him 10 points. Jakobi Heady managed nine points on 2-of-12 shooting, while Kyler VanderJagt and Bryan Ndjonga each contributed eight points.
The visitors shot 25.9 percent from the field, including 18.8 percent from 3-point range (3 of 16). Arizona made 54.5 percent of its shots despite hitting just 34.5 percent of its 3-point attempts (10 of 29).
The Wildcats went on a 15-3 run to establish control in the first half, taking a 15-6 lead with 13:36 left.
Love scored 11 points in that run, including two treys and three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt. He finished 3-of-8 from distance.
Love's layup and Lewis's driving dunk sparked a 14-2 surge that increased Arizona's lead to 29-12 with 7:36 remaining in the half.
The Wildcats closed the half by scoring seven straight points, including four from Love, to lead 44-23 at the break.
Love made 7 of 11 shots from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range, to nearly outscore the Chippewas in the first half.
Central Michigan entered halftime shooting 9-of-25 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.
After the Chippewas cut the lead to 46-28 with 17:41 left, Arizona responded with a 19-2 run to pull away for good.
Central Michigan has one more nonconference game before opening its Mid-American Conference schedule Jan. 4 at home against Ohio.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Central Michigan |
|
Arizona |
|
Cayden Vasko 10 |
Scoring |
Caleb Love 24 |
|
Bryan Ndjonga 2 |
Assists |
Carter Bryant 5 |
|
Bryan Ndjonga 8 |
Rebounds |
Tobe Awaka 10 |
|
Jakobi Heady 5 |
Free Throws Made |
KJ Lewis 5 |
|
Quentin Heady 2 |
Steals |
Jaden Bradley 2 |
|
Quentin Heady 1 |
Blocks |
Anthony Dell'Orso 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Central Michigan
|
41 |
25.9 |
3-16 |
10-18 |
5 |
26 |
3 |
3 |
17 |
| Arizona
|
94 |
54.5 |
10-29 |
12-13 |
28 |
44 |
3 |
10 |
10 |
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