In losing four of five games, Arizona had resembled a team of individuals that looked more interested in personal goals than collective ones. Tommy Lloyd was looking for more “us moments” as the Wildcats returned to the court for the first time in more than a week.
One game doesn’t make a trend, but it could start one.
Arizona had seven players in double figures in a 102-66 blowout win over Southern Utah on Saturday afternoon at McKale Center. The victory gets the UA (4-4) back to .500 after having a losing record for the first time since 2010.
Anthony Dell’Orso led the Wildcats with 19 points, part of a bench output that produced 62 points and outscored Southern Utah 35-23 in the first half. KJ Lewis had 15 along with eight rebounds and five assists, Tobe Awaka, Trey Townsend and Henri Veesaar 12 each, Caleb Love 11 and Motiejus Krivas 10 for the UA, which shot 50 percent and was 28 of 36 from the line.
It was the third time this season the Wildcats had at least five players score 10 or more, all lopsided wins, and since the start of the 2023-24 season they are 21-1 when having five-plus in double figures.
Arizona’s defense forced 18 turnovers, leading to 28 points, recording 13 steals with three from Jaden Bradley. Southern Utah (8-3) shot 37.5 percent and was 10 of 28 from 3.
The game’s opening sequence had a familiar feeling, with Arizona turning it over and Southern Utah converting that into a wide-open 3. The Wildcats only turned it over once over the next 14 minutes while they turned the Thunderbirds’ first seven turnovers into 12 points.
Southern Utah started 3 of 7 from outside but then missed seven of eight and only managed four field goals inside the arc in the first half.
A 13-0 run put Arizona up 33-16 with 7:36 left in the first half, a 3-minute stretch where all the scoring came from the bench, which had 35 points before halftime on 12-of-17 shooting.
The UA led 55-23 at halftime, shooting 52.8 percent and getting 20 points off turnovers. The second half was a little sloppier at times, particularly on offense, but Southern Utah didn’t score more than four in a row until there were eight minutes to go.
No Wildcat had scored more than nine over the first 25 minutes before Lewis got to 10 with 14:50 remaining. Townsend followed 36 seconds left, with Krivas and Dell’Orso getting there before the under-12 timeout. Veesaar and Awaka followed shortly thereafter, with Love becoming the seventh with 5:54 remaining.
Arizona is off again until next Saturday when it takes on UCLA in Phoenix, the start of a 3-game series against its former Pac-12 rivals.