Allonzo Trier, Deandre Ayton lead Arizona past Cal State Bakersfield, 91-59

Trier scored a lot of points, Ayton posted another double-double, and the Wildcats won big in high-scoring fashion. Business as usual.

Allonzo Trier scored a lot of points, Deandre Ayton posted another double-double, and the Arizona Wildcats won big in high-scoring fashion.

It was business as usual Thursday in McKale Center when UA beat Cal State Bakersfield, 91-59, to improve to 3-0 heading into Battle 4 Atlantis.

Trier dropped 28 points, shooting 8-9 from the field, 3-3 from 3, and 9-12 from the free throw line. The junior is averaging 30 points per game on 70 percent shooting through three games.

“He’s the best shooting guard in the NCAA,” Ayton said.

Ayton overcame a shaky first half to post 18 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. The freshman scored 16 points in the second half alone.

Ayton made his first career 3 to put Arizona up 53-35 with 15:49 in the second half after missing his first three attempts.

“It felt good,” he said of the 3. “You’re going to see a lot of those.”

Arizona failed to reach the 100-point mark for the first time this season, but the Wildcats’ offense continued to pour in points at an efficient clip.

Arizona shot 56 percent from the field, 9-16 from 3, and 28-36 from the free throw line. Dusan Ristic scored all 12 of his points in the first half. Parker Jackson-Cartwright had 11 points on two shots, shooting 6-8 from the charity stripe.

He also sank this last-second half-court shot to put Arizona up 44-27 at halftime.

PJC FROM HALFCOURT http://pic.twitter.com/nVp35P1Kwl

— Ryan Kelapire (@RKelapire) November 17, 2017

Sean Miller wanted to see some improvement defensively from the Wildcats before next week’s trip to the Bahamas and he got just that.

CSUB shot 39 percent from the field and 1-16 from 3. Arizona did have trouble rebounding and defending without fouling at times, but it was a step in the right direction on that side of the ball.

Emmanuel Akot and Brandon Randolph struggled, combining for four points on 1-10 shooting. Randolph played a career-high 12 minutes as he continues to work his way back from a concussion.

Ira Lee had four fouls in 17 minutes, but also posted five points and seven rebounds. Alex Barcello had six points, shooting 2-4 from 3.

Barcello and Akot drilled 3s to put Arizona up 65-41 with 12 minutes left as UA’s offense beautifully moved the ball against CSUB’s zone.

Bakersfield took an early 6-2 lead, but Arizona answered with a 21-5 run to take a commanding 23-11 lead after a 3 by Trier and a layup by Jackson-Cartwright in transition.

The Roadrunners would never cut Arizona’s lead under double digits after that.

Trier led all scorers with 14 points at break; Ristic was right behind him with 12.

Ayton didn’t score his first points of the half until a tip-in with 1:41 left. He was 1-5 from the field, including 0-3 from 3 in the first 20 minutes.

Arizona returns to action Wednesday when it will face NC State in the Bahamas in Battle 4 Atlantis.

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Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire

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