The 13th ranked Arizona Wildcats continue the nation’s longest home winning streak as they knocked off the Fresno State Bulldogs, winning 85-72.
It was not easy for the Wildcats, playing without Kaleb Tarczewski and lock-down defender Elliot Pitts Then, freshman Kadeem Allen went down in the second half with an apparent ankle injury and had to be helped into the locker room.
Luckily though, Gabe York stepped up when it mattered and made eight straight points including a straight-away three pointer that banked off the glass before it went through the hoop. York ended the night with only 12 points but managed to put up a good defensive effort, stealing the ball twice and racked up four assists.
Allonzo Trier, while maybe not as good as Stanley Johnson coming into his freshman season of college basketball, played his best ball as a member of Sean Miller’s squad. He did work on the defensive end of the court, always putting pressure on his man and even came down with six rebounds. The offensive side of the ball is where he thrived tonight, ending the game as the leading scorer while coming away with a new career high in points – 27.
He made good decisions with his shot selection too, never forced anything and only missed three on eleven attempts, including going 60% from behind the three point arc. Trier is also one of Arizona’s most consistent free throw shooters and made eight out of ten attempts while the rest of the team struggled from the field tonight.
Fresno State put up a tough test in an even tougher environment and the scoreline does not reflect how they played. Bulldogs senior point guard Marvelle Harris led his team in scoring, finishing the game with 23 which was nine points higher than the next guy on the squad. Harris, a Rialto, California product played nearly every minute of the game before fouling out late in the second half which essentially put the game away.
There was one key difference in tonight’s game and that point distribution. Fresno State as a whole only had three guys put up double-digit points: Marvelle Harris (23), Paul Watson (14) and Cezar Guerrero (11). Two of their guys did not even score in 21 combined minutes, missing all five attempted shots. Arizona, on the other hand, four scoring more than ten points and each of their nine players made at least a point tonight while contributing to a number of other factors of the game.
Up next for the Arizona Wildcats, will be another test at home on Sunday against a Missouri team who has not really found their stride yet. For the Bulldogs, they will play Pacific at home on Saturday.