• By Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star

After Arizona beat Bethune-Cookman on Monday at McKale Center, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said he knew Bethune-Cookman would be tough after being something of a 'mercenary' and playing a schedule that has included eight road games it is being paid for.

Because it beat five ranked teams en route to its best start ever under coach Tommy Lloyd, Arizona was heading into Christmas break on a potentially anticlimactic note by hosting low-major Bethune-Cookman.

But the Wildcats, and those around them, put on a show anyway. It was just a different kind of show.

In Arizona men's basketball's 107-71 win over its SWAC opponent from Daytona Beach, Florida, there was:

– A UA player, forward Mabil Mawut, getting ejected despite not playing in the game … or any game this season so far because he’s redshirting.

– A UA player, center Motiejus Krivas, nearly getting ejected for two Flagrant 1 fouls, having picked up one after his elbows hit the face of a shorter player, Bethune-Cookman's Quentin Heady … then nearly getting second Flagrant 1 foul before officials determined upon review that it was a common foul.

– The sight of Heady’s brother, Jakobi, shooting what was an illegal free throw after Krivas’ flagrant foul because Quentin was supposed to be shooting. Jakobi missed the free-throw attempt, and it was stricken from the books, while Quentin then stepped to the line and hit both of the allowable free throws.

– A fire alarm for the final 49 seconds that both teams played through despite loud sirens and flashing lights continuing as time ticked off the clock.

“I mean, it's — I don't know,” Lloyd said. "It's right before Christmas. I don't know what it is. There were a lot of strange things, but to be honest with you, I'm happy we got through it and I think we're all looking forward to those few days off.”

There were normal basketball things that made it interesting, too. UA held just a two-point lead after nine minutes and allowed its low-major opponent to shoot 50% in the first half just two days after the Wildcats held San Diego State to 26.3% shooting.

But all that worked itself out.

The Wildcats, who reached their first 12-0 start under Lloyd, received 20 points from freshman guard Brayden Burries and had nine points from each of their other seven rotation players, while scoring 36 points on 22 Bethune-Cookman turnovers and outrebounding the visiting Wildcats 42-22.

“It was kind of tough playing another game after we just played on Saturday, so we just had to recalibrate a little bit,” said wing Ivan Kharchenkov, who had 14 points and five rebounds. “We were a little sloppy in the beginning of the first half, but I feel like we picked it up.”

Arizona forward Ivan Kharchenkov (8) and Bethune-Cookman forward Quentin Heady (5) chase after a loose ball in the first half during a game at McKale Center on Dec. 22, 2025.

Meanwhile, Lloyd attributed the Wildcats’ defensive slippage in part due to Bethune-Cookman’s playing style.

"Bethune Cookman was playing with a lot of effort and energy. They made a few tough shots, and then they just kept coming," Lloyd said.

"It was a lot of all-or-nothing plays. When you have 22 turnovers but you continue to play aggressive, you take some chances. Sometimes those passes get through and they end up being layups or wide open shots.”

Bethune-Cookman cut UA’s lead to just 21-19 with nine minutes left in the first half — thanks in part to a layup, dunk and jumper from Quentin Heady — and trailed by just four with six minutes left.

But the game was never really in doubt after that, meaning all the crazy stuff didn’t really matter.

With 2:23 left in the first half, Bethune-Cookman’s Tyler Andrews launched a 3-pointer from the left corner, right in front of UA’s bench, when Mawut jumped out of his seat at the corner of the floor, stood up just behind the baseline and appeared to shout at Andrews.

Officials ruled that a technical foul for taunting and, when they also ruled Mawut responded inappropriately to an official after the call, Mawut was ejected. UA trainer Justin Kokoskie escorted Mawut toward the UA locker room.

"Mabil is a great kid who probably did something he shouldn't have done," Lloyd said. "I don't know if he said something on the first T or he faked like he was contesting the guy's shot, but both of them aren't right. And after they called the first technical, he must have said something else. I've never really asked. I just trusted the officials on that one."

After officials reviewed the situation, Andrews’ shot was declared good, and B-CU's Jakobi Heady — who was actually the appointed shooter this time — hit four resulting free throws for a seven-point play that cut UA's lead to 42-33.

Basically, Mawut added four points to Bethune-Cookman’s score without being named in any box score or stat sheet this season.

“I just think it goes to show that lots of things impact winning, and lots of things impact the culture,” Lloyd said. “Even if you’re not playing, you still can have an impact on the game. So let's make sure it doesn't happen again, and especially in a closer game down the stretch. I'm going to chalk it up to a great teaching opportunity.”

Lloyd may have a trickier time teaching Krivas how to avoid the movement that resulted in a flagrant foul three minutes into the second half.

Bethune-Cookman forward Quentin Heady (5) gets hit in the throat by Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (13) in the second half in Tucson on Dec. 22, 2025. UA won 107-71.

Replays showed both of Krivas’ elbows contacted the jaw area of Quentin Heady’s face as Krivas drove his way toward the basket, twisting as he tried to clear some space. Contact to the head can warrant a Flagrant 1 foul regardless of whether officials rule there was intention, though Lloyd indicated Krivas' height makes it tricky.

“It's tough when you're a big guy — you're physical and they're playing you physical,” Lloyd said. “There's going to be contact, and if you're 7-2, going against a guy who's 6-8 (Heady is 6-6) the face is right next to that elbow, so it’s tough. It’s something we'll look at, if we think there's a technique we need to make an adjustment on.”

Lloyd said he trusted the officials’ call, noting that Krivas wasn’t’whistled for a second flagrant, but still wondered what he could do.

“I don't know how you squeeze the ball in with strength and keep your elbows in,” Lloyd said. “If somebody can help me with that, we'll figure that out.”

Even though Quentin Heady hit both free throws once his brother got off the free-throw line, Arizona still led 55-40 and wasn’t threatened the rest of the way. 

Ultimately, despite all the weirdness on Monday, the Wildcats had more than enough to head into their Christmas break with a 12-0 mark they haven’t had since their 2014-15 Elite Eight team did under then-coach Sean Miller.

Arizona guard Brayden Burries (5) breaks through the defense of Bethune-Cookman forward Daniel Rouzan (23) and guard Rickey Mitchell Jr. (2) in the second half during a game at McKale Center on Dec. 22, 2025. Arizona won 107-71.

“I was worried about having a little bit of a slow start,” Lloyd said. “We really didn't practice much (Sunday) and we hadn't really done that yet this year.

"Obviously, we didn't come out with maybe the effort or the urgency you would have hoped. Sometimes that's to be expected, but we found it over the course of the game."

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Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe