Arizona’s bench shines in rout of Georgia Southern

UA’s bench exploded for 47 points

Five Arizona Wildcats scored in double figures as they used a balanced offensive attack to top the Georgia Southern Eagles 100-70 on Thursday night in McKale Center.

The win snaps UA’s two-game losing streak, as it improves to 5-2 heading into Sunday’s road game at UConn.

Chase Jeter had a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Randolph and Brandon Williams each scored 14 points, but the story of the night was Arizona’s bench.

It accounted for 47 points, as Alex Barcello (16) and Dylan Smith (10) both provided an unforeseen scoring punch. The unit scored 19 points across three games in the Maui Invitational.

Barcello’s 16 points were a career high. The sophomore guard went 6 for 10 from the field, draining a pair of 3s. Smith continued his enigmatic season by sinking two 3s of his own.

Devonaire Doutrive, who finally cracked the rotation, had eight points in 11 minutes and electrified the crowd by throwing a behind-the-back pass to Barcello for a layup late in the second half.

The Wildcats shot 51 percent as a team and held Georgia Southern, one of the most efficient offenses in the country, to 39 percent shooting.

Arizona was up 45-32 at the half and maintained a double-digit lead through the final 20 minutes, leading by as many as 34 points.

It erased a forgettable start.

Sean Miller made a slight alteration to the starting lineup by replacing Ryan Luther with Emmanuel Akot, and it probably didn’t yield the result he wanted.

The Wildcats missed 12 of their first 16 shots, as the Eagles captured a 15-10 lead midway through the first half.

But Arizona quickly turned it around with Williams leading the way with 10 first-half points. Not too long after he hit a pair of 3s, the freshman posterized a GSU defender with a one-handed slam to put Arizona up 37-25 with 3:35 left.

Smith drilled a 3 to make it 40-29 and Luther sank a triple from the corner to give UA a 13-point lead heading into the locker room.

Nine different Wildcats scored in the first half. Akot made a layup late in the second half to become UA’s 10th scorer.

Barcello had five first-half points and Doutrive made a rare early appearance and immediately drove to the basket for a layup.

Jeter came alive in the second half, scoring 11 of his points in the period. He notched seven points in the first three minutes alone to bump the Wildcats’ lead to 18, and later hit two free throws to make it a 20-point game.

Jeter, a career 56 percent free-throw shooter, went 10 for 12 from the charity stripe. He was the beneficiary of some terrific passes by Williams, who finished with six assists.

Randolph one-upped Jeter by going 6 for 6 from the line. The Wildcats were 22 for 29 as a team. They outrebounded the Eagles, 42-34, holding their small frontline to just four second-chance points.

This story will be updated.

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