Short-handed Arizona pulls away late in exhibition vs. Chico State

Photo by Ryan Kelapire

Nico Mannion tossed a lob to Josh Green for the first basket in Arizona‘s exhibition against Division II Chico State.

That freshman connection was about the only thing that went to script.

Thirty minutes before tip-off Zeke Nnaji (ankle injury) and Devonaire Doutrive (suspension) were declared out, ridding Arizona of two of its top players.

UA then got all it could handle by the visiting Wildcats, who led at halftime and for parts of the second half before Arizona pulled away for a 74-65 victory.

A thunderous dunk by Green gave Arizona a 39-38 lead with 15:35 left, highlighting a 9-2 run that gave UA a six-point lead, its largest advantage of the night at the time.

Chase Jeter backed down for an and-one to push the lead to 51-42 with 9:42 left. Arizona struggled at the new 3-point line—4-for-17—so it fed the post.

Jeter finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Ira Lee, starting in Nnaji’s place, had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Stone Gettings chipped in with five points off the bench, draining a corner 3 just moments after checking in for Lee in the first half.

Mannion swished a couple late free throws to finish with 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting to go along with six assists, five rebounds, and five turnovers. The Wildcats committed nine turnovers in the first half and 12 for the game.

That early carelessness plus six first-half 3s by Chico State helped the visiting Wildcats hang around.

Max Hazzard nailed a pull-up at the elbow and Dylan Smith drove for an and-one in transition to push Arizona’s lead to 57-46 with 6:51 left in the second half. Smith missed the free throw and didn’t score the rest of the night. He started at the 2 alongside Mannion, Green, Lee and Jeter.

Hazzard finished with eight points, including a pair of triples.

The Wildcats shot 37 percent in the first half, but 48 percent in the second. Arizona went just 16 for 26 from the free-throw line.

Though Green had a few acrobatic dunks, he otherwise looked uncomfortable, posting 11 points (on seven shots), one rebound, three turnovers, and zero assists in 27 minutes. He made four late free throws to push him into double figures and close out the game.

Fellow freshman Christian Koloko looked smooth in limited action, with four points and two rebounds in six minutes. He sank a mid-range jump off an assist from Mannion to put Arizona up 23-19 midway through the first half. That came only a few minutes after Koloko used some crafty footwork to score underneath while being fouled.

UA opens the regular season Wednesday at home against NAU. It is unclear if Nnaji or Doutrive will be available.

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