In his Arizona exhibition debut, freshman center Deandre Ayton lived up to every bit of his considerable hype.
Ayton led the shorthanded Wildcats to a 91-63 win over Eastern New Mexico by pouring in 31 points on 13-for-16 shooting, dominating the undersized Greyhounds inside offensively and by grabbing 10 rebounds.
However, ENMU had only four fewer rebounds overall than Arizona (36) and managed to keep things reasonably competitive for much of the game, even though they return only five players from a 13-15 team and lost to NAIA Arizona Christian on Monday in Phoenix.
The Greyhounds had 17 offensive rebounds, turning them into 16 second-chance points.
Brandon Randolph added 14 points for Arizona, which was playing without Parker Jackson-Cartwright (ankle), wing Rawle Alkins (foot) and guard Dylan Smith (suspension). Allonzo Trier and Emmanuel Akot each had 10.
After scoring 17 points in the first half, Ayton picked it right up after halftime, scoring eight through the first five minutes after halftime, all around the basket as he dominated the undersized Greyhound interior players.
He had his 31 points already with 7:15 to go on a dunk, and left the game during the ensuing timeout when he walked gingerly on his right knee. Trainer Justin Kokoskie then worked with him on what appeared to be a cramp but Ayton did not re-enter the game.
In the first half, Ayton had 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting with three rebounds, two assists and a steal he converted to a dunk.
Akot added 10 points off the bench for UA, which had just eight available scholarship players, while Jamani Pierce led ENMU in first-half scoring with 11 points.
UA shot 62.1 percent from the field and held the Greyhounds to 38.2 percent. However, ENMU managed to pull down 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, leading to 11 second-chance points.
Withou Jackson-Cartwright, the Wildcats started freshman Alex Barcello at point guard while also starting Randolph in place of Alkins, who is out for another month with a broken foot.
UA was also without Smith, a projected reserve guard who was suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules.
Barcello missed a shot on UA’s first possiession but the Wildcats went ahead 11-8 at the first media timeout after Ayton showed off his surprising speed for a 7-footer when he stole the ball from ENMU and raced downcourt for a dunk.
After the first timeout, UA coach Sean Miller put in his three remaining scholarship players: Akot, senior forward Keanu Pinder and freshman forward Ira Lee, playing Lee and Pinder together in the post at times without Ayton or fellow 7-footer Dusan Ristic.
Arizona then went on a 21-4 run over the middle of the first half to take a 32-12 lead with 7:39. At that point, Ayton already had 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Akot hit his second 3-pointer, from the right corner, to give UA a 39-24 lead with 3:43 remaining.
Arizona will host Division II power Chico State in its second and final exhibition game on Sunday at McKale Center.
