Despite a couple hiccups in the first half where they had scoreless droughts, Arizona men’s basketball went on to win a second straight exhibition comfortably.
The Wildcats knocked off San Diego State 82-67 at McKale Center on Friday night.
“San Diego State’s obviously a good team and it was a great opportunity and a great experience for us,” said UA head coach Tommy Lloyd. “So lots of good things to learn from and a lot of positives and obviously some learning things and that’s what these games are about.
“So I’m excited that we’re getting to play teams of this caliber in our exhibition schedule, I think it’s gonna, it’s gonna be really beneficial.”
Senior center Motiejus Krivas had a double-double, a game-high 17 points and led all rebounders with 15.
Sophomore forward Ivan Kharchenkov said “he’s the best big man in the country.”
“I thought Mo was great, he obviously missed some shots around the basket that he’d love to have back because he’s been so proficient at finishing all summer and fall,” Lloyd said, “but the guy gets 15 rebounds, six on the offensive end, blocks four shots and is 11 for 14 from the free-throw line.”
Kharchenkov had 13 points, 12 rebounds and a pair of steals and freshman guard Caleb Holt scored 15 to go with seven rebounds and three steals. UA had six players score in double figures, three with 13 points or more.
Arizona jumped out a 19-9 lead but San Diego State fought back.
About eight minutes into the game Arizona saw a 3:10 scoring drought ended by a 3-pointer from forward Maksim Brnovic. Then the freshman got a steal and dunk on the ensuing Aztec possession.
“It was really good, I just came in the first time, just brought the energy, both ends on the floor, just compete with the guys,” Brnovic said.
Brnovic scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, had four rebounds and a steal before fouling out.
“Maks, he’s got a world of potential and it’ll be interesting to see how long it takes him to kind of get closer to his ceiling, it could take him a while, but he’s showing that he’s not scared out there and he was able to make some critical plays in the game when we needed him,” Lloyd said. “So yeah, I’m just really excited about the progress he’s making and just all the reps he’s getting and I think we’re really going to be able to kind of hone in on some growth areas here in the coming weeks.”
SDSU took the lead at 25-20 with a 16-1 run.
Kharchenkov’s jumper ended a scoring drought of about three minutes, which including nine straight missed field goals,
Arizona was 26-for-75 from the field and shot 26.5% from three. The Wildcats had five turnovers and seven steals.
“They obviously came in with a game plan to really pack the paint, be really tight in that first gap and to kind of go under as many ball screens as they could and so they played a pretty compact defense and it was great for us to go against,” Lloyd said. “We had some really successful possessions and we had some that probably weren’t so good.”
Lloyd said assistant coach Brandon Chappell scouted the Aztecs, saying over the last 10 years they were a top 10 defensive team based on efficiency.
“So to go against a defense of that caliber and score 82 points, I feel okay about it,” Lloyd said. “I mean, yeah, of course, I would like to make more shots and you guys know I don’t love shooting 34.7%, but we did but we take care of the ball, we offensive rebounded, and we got to the free throw line, and that’s how you could still be efficient offensively.”
The Wildcats retook the lead off a couple free throws from sophomore guard JJ Mandaquit. Arizona would end up going on a 14-0 run and holding San Diego State scoreless for about 4:45 and ended the first half with a 40-32 lead.
San Diego State went 22-11 last year and missed out on the NCAA tournament after finishing second place in the Mountain West Conference. They’ve moved onto the Pac-12.
Four Aztecs scored in double figures, led by senior guard Isaiah Sy with 17.
At about 14 minutes left, UA went on a 6-0 run, including a Mandaquit three-pointer, and stretched the lead to double digits, 53-42. The Aztecs responded with a couple field goals but then the Wildcats went on an 11-0 run.
The Aztecs did not score a field goal for almost five minutes.
Mandaquit had 12 points, four assists and a steal.
“It’s my first two games since January and obviously I feel good enough to be out there and playing and competing with my guys and I think that’s just the biggest thing,” said Mandaquit, a transfer from Washington. “I’m just happy and grateful, I think being out for so long gives you a different perspective.
“So when you finally able to be out there, you play a little more loose and have a little more fun,” he added. “Like I said, first two games, slowly trying to adjust back and hopefully I can get more comfortable with more practices and more games.”
With 5:56 left, San Diego State cut the lead to 11 with an 8-0 run. UA went on a scoring drought of about two and a half minutes but eventually pulled away.
Up next for the Wildcats is their final exhibition game on Friday against Eastern Washington on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. The season opener is Nov. 2 against UCLA in Las Vegas.
SHORT READS
— On Thursday, the Big 12 announced that Arizona was the top team in their preseason poll.
Krivas was picked to the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and Kharchenkov was preseason first team all-conference.
“It’s simple, preseason accolades don’t mean anything, we’re a program that’s way more based on the substance of what you do over the course of the season and postseason awards, those are the meaningful ones,” Lloyd said. “We haven’t even talked about it as a team, we’re on our own journey right now and we’re not defending anything.
“I mean no one can take away from us what we did last year and the only way you can go do something this year is you got to go do it,” he added. “So we’re looking forward to that challenge of going out and competing for a big 12 championship with a lot of really good teams and by no means do we think we’re a step ahead of anybody, just like everybody else, where everyone’s 0-0.”
— Attendance was 13,661.
— Sophomore guard Bryce James started his second straight exhibition game. James was 0-for-1 from the field in 10 minutes on Friday.
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