Deandre Ayton posts 31 points, 10 rebounds in Arizona’s rout of Eastern New Mexico

Ayton had 31 points and 10 rebounds as he mauled an undersized ENMU frontcourt

Going up against a frontcourt that looked like it could start at a local high school, Deandre Ayton easily lived up to the hype as one of the nation’s top freshmen in his unofficial debut with the Arizona Wildcats.

The 7-foot-1 freshman tallied 31 points and 10 rebounds as No. 3 Arizona beat Eastern New Mexico 91-63 in an exhibition Wednesday in McKale Center.

Ayton was 13-16 from the field, using an impressive combination of size, strength, and athleticism to maul the Greyhounds, whose tallest player was 6-foot-7.

Ayton had several dunks, a few jump hooks, a pair of blocks, and even showed off his ability to handle the ball, intercepting a pass and taking it coast-to-coast for a slam for UA’s first bucket of the game.

Ayton exited with an apparent leg injury with 7:15 left in the second half and would not return, but it did not appear to be serious and he remained on the bench for the remainder of the night.

The Wildcats were already without Parker Jackson-Cartwright (ankle), Rawle Alkins (foot), and Dylan Smith (suspension), allowing several of UA’s freshmen to play big minutes.

Emmanuel Akot was Arizona’s second brightest star, notching 10 points and six assists in 25 minutes off the bench. He was 4-5 from the field and 2-2 from 3, showing a smooth jumper.

Alex Barcello, who started in place of Jackson-Cartwright, had seven points (3-6 FG), three rebounds, and two assists in 33 minutes.

Brandon Randolph, who started for Alkins, struggled to find his groove offensively for most of the night, missing all seven of his 3-point attempts, but did score late to finish with 14 points on 5-12 shooting.

Allonzo Trier and Dusan Ristic had relatively quiet nights, pouring in 10 and 7 points, respectively.

Arizona shot 61 from the field, 5-15 from 3, and 16-19 from the free throw line. The Wildcats had 16 assists, and moved the ball fairly well as team. Trier had four assists, and UA’s freshmen as a whole were willing passers, including Ayton, who had two assists.

Arizona’s defense — especially its rebounding — was in anything but midseason form, allowing Eastern New Mexico to haul in 17 offensive rebounds, leading to 16 second-chance points.

The Greyhounds shot 37 percent from the field.

Arizona led 47-31 at halftime, behind 17 first-half points from Ayton and 10 from Akot, and by as many 20 points in the period, but got a little careless toward the end, allowing ENMU to get within 12 with 1:18 left in the half.

An acrobatic layup by Barcello in transition and a mid-range jumper by Ira Lee pushed UA’s lead back to 16.

Lee had nine points on a perfect 4-4 shooting.

Ayton scored eight points early in the second half, helping UA extend its lead to 64-47 with 12:40 left in regulation.

Later, Ayton had a layup and dunk to push the margin to 80-49 with 7:15 left before he was removed from the game.

Arizona returns to action Sunday when it will take on Chico State at 4 p.m. MST.

Check back for more postgame news and notes

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Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire

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