UA Arizona Wildcats basketball logo

Arizona had seven players score nine points or more while beating UCF 88-80 on Saturday at McKale Center in the first-ever matchup between the two teams.

The Wildcats lost an 14-point lead in the first half but led by three at halftime and outscored UCF 43-38 in the second half. Caleb Love led the Wildcats by scoring 16 points while hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers and collecting eight rebounds and six assists.

Anthony Dell’Orso added 15 points while hitting all nine free throws he took, and Henri Veesaar added 14 points and five rebounds. Dell'Orso's nine free throw attempts and makes were both season highs.

UA shot 47.5% from the field while holding UCF to just 38.7%. But the Knights partly made up for their shooting by outrebounding UA 40-39. They scored  23 points off 20 offensive rebounds, the most second-chance points a UA opponent has scored all season.

The win moved the Wildcats to 10-5 overall and 4-0 in the Big 12 heading into a late Tuesday night game with Baylor (11-4, 3-1), which beat ASU 72-66 in overtime earlier Saturday night. UCF dropped to 11-4 and 2-2.

Leading 45-42 at halftime, Arizona fell into a tie at 45 after Darius Johnson hit a 3-pointer 23 seconds into the second half but went on an 8-0 run to take a 53-52 lead by the time Jaden Bradley tipped in a layup with 12:42 left. Arizona later went ahead by 12, 66-54, when Dell’Orso hit a 3-pointer.

The Wildcats hit half of their 22 shots over the first 12 minutes of the second half while holding a 74-62 lead with 7:52 to go. They later went ahead by 17, leading 82-65 after Dell’Orso hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and, on UA’s next possession, hit two free throws.

Arizona led by double digits from there until UCF’s Keyshawn Hall made a layup with 1:17 left to cut UA’s lead to 87-78.

In the first half, Trey Townsend converted a three-point play with 14 seconds left to give the Wildcats their 45-42 halftime lead after their early 14-point leads were washed away. After UCF turned the ball over on its final possession of the half, Townsend took a 3-pointer at the buzzer but it missed as time expired.

The Wildcats took several 14-point leads midway through the half but the game was tied at 42 when UCF center Moustapha Thiam with 38 seconds left in the half.

Arizona shot an even 50% for the half while holding UCF to 36.8% but the Knights outrebounded the Wildcats 24-17, scoring 11 second-chance points off 12 offensive rebounds. UCF also scored 12 points off seven UA turnovers.

Love led the Wildcats in first-half scoring with 11 points while hitting 3 of 5 3-pointers.

The Wildcats took leads of up to 14 points midway through the first half but UCF went on a 10-3 run to pull within 36-29 with 5:13 to go after Rokas Jocias converted a three-point play and Keyshawn Hall hit two free throws.

The Knights later cut it to 38-32 with 4:29 left when Jocias hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and to six points again, 40-36, on a layup from Darius Johnson with 3:30 left.

Hall finished with a game-high 22 points while Johnson had 18 for UCF.

Arizona never trailed early and took a 10-point lead, 24-14, while holding UCF to just 33.3% shooting over the first eight minutes. Love hit 2 of 3 3s and scored eight points over that span while Tobe Awaka added six points and two rebounds.

Townsend and Awaka each scored eight points in the first half after combining for an average of only 7.5 in UA's wins at Cincinnati and West Virginia in the past week. Awaka finished with 11 points and five rebounds while Townsend had 

The game was Arizona’s second on ESPN this season, and first since the Wildcats lost to Oklahoma in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals on Nov. 28. UA's game at 9 p.m. Tuesday will also be carried on ESPN.


Become a #ThisIsTucson member! Your contribution helps our team bring you stories that keep you connected to the community. Become a member today.

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