Arizona snaps out of recent funk, pummels Samford

Field Level Media|published: Wed 18th December, 23:37 2024

Dec 18, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (1) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Samford Bulldogs at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Caleb Love scored 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field with five rebounds and four assists to lead Arizona to a 96-64 victory Wednesday over visiting Samford.

The Wildcats (5-5) bounced back after Saturday's loss against UCLA, which was its third loss in four games.

Samford (9-3) had its five-game winning streak snapped.

The night included former Arizona guard T.J. McConnell, of the Indiana Pacers who is a 10-year NBA veteran, joining the Wildcats' Ring of Honor at McKale Center.

Trey Townsend finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists against Samford. Anthony Dell'Orso, making his first start of the season, had 14 points.

Jaden Bradley added 11 points and six assists. KJ Lewis, who also had 11 points, made all seven of his free-throw attempts.

Jaden Brownell led Samford with 13 points while Trey Fort and Julian Brown each had 11.

The Wildcats built a 56-33 lead at halftime after committing only four turnovers against Samford's constant full-court pressure defense.

Arizona had runs of 10-3 and 13-2 in the first half.

Love had 18 points before halftime on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, 6 of 8 from the free-throw line.

Arizona made 61.3 percent of its shots from the field in the first half and 58.2 percent for the game.

The overall shooting made up for the Wildcats' 7-of-22 performance from 3-point range.

Arizona's 25-of-33 shooting within the arc contributed to a 48-20 scoring edge in the paint.

Samford outscored Arizona 13-4 behind seven points from Brownell to open the second half, narrowing the deficit to 60-46 with 16:21 left.

Arizona pulled away behind an 11-3 run that built the lead to 73-51 with 10:10 left.

The closest Samford got down the stretch was 80-61 with 4:44 remaining.

Arizona then scored 10 unanswered points, capped by a basket by reserve center Emmanuel Stephen.

Stephen played in his first game of the season after Arizona initially planned to redshirt the Nigerian.

The move to play Stephen came after Motiejus Krivas, Arizona's starting center, suffered a foot injury in a win over Southern Utah on Dec. 7. He is out indefinitely.

--Field Level Media