Arizona clobbers Central Michigan in final tune-up before Big 12 play

Caleb Love scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half to lead Arizona to a 94-41 victory Saturday over visiting Central Michigan in the Wildcats' last nonconference game before Big 12 play starts.

KJ Lewis had 13 points off the bench for Arizona (6-5), which has won consecutive games ahead of its conference opener against visiting TCU on Dec. 30. Tobe Awaka had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats.

The Chippewas (5-6) did not have a double-figure scorer until Cayden Vasko made a 3-pointer with 6:57 left, giving him 10 points. Jakobi Heady managed nine points on 2-of-12 shooting, while Kyler VanderJagt and Bryan Ndjonga each contributed eight points.

The visitors shot 25.9 percent from the field, including 18.8 percent from 3-point range (3 of 16). Arizona made 54.5 percent of its shots despite hitting just 34.5 percent of its 3-point attempts (10 of 29).

The Wildcats went on a 15-3 run to establish control in the first half, taking a 15-6 lead with 13:36 left.

Love scored 11 points in that run, including two treys and three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt. He finished 3-of-8 from distance.

Love's layup and Lewis's driving dunk sparked a 14-2 surge that increased Arizona's lead to 29-12 with 7:36 remaining in the half.

The Wildcats closed the half by scoring seven straight points, including four from Love, to lead 44-23 at the break.

Love made 7 of 11 shots from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range, to nearly outscore the Chippewas in the first half.

Central Michigan entered halftime shooting 9-of-25 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.

After the Chippewas cut the lead to 46-28 with 17:41 left, Arizona responded with a 19-2 run to pull away for good.

Central Michigan has one more nonconference game before opening its Mid-American Conference schedule Jan. 4 at home against Ohio.

--Field Level Media