Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries continued his recent offensive surge with 20 points to help the Wildcats beat Bethune-Cookman 107-71 and race to their best start ever under fifth-year coach Tommy Lloyd.
Top-ranked Arizona moved to 12-0 heading into its brief Christmas break, surpassing the 11-0 mark the Wildcats posted in Lloyd’s first UA season of 2021-22 and tying the unbeaten start the Wildcats posted in 2014-15 under then-coach Sean Miller. UA’s school-record start was 21-0 in 2013-14.
Burries shot 6 of 10 from the field, making 3 of 4 3-pointers and 5 of 6 free throws while scoring 20 ore more points for the fourth time in the Wildcats’ past seven games.
Center Motiejus Krivas and wing Ivan Kharchenkov each added 14 points and five rebounds, while backup center Tobe Awaka had 12 points and eight rebounds. All eight players in UA’s regular rotation had nine points or more.
Arizona shot 57.1% and hit 9 of 17 3-pointers. While Bethune-Cookman shot 48.1%, Arizona more than made up for it by scoring 36 points off 22 B-CU turnovers and outrebounding the visiting Wildcats 42-22.
While the game was never really in doubt after the first 15 minutes, it featured a part of officiating decisions that drew loud displeasure from the crowd of about 12,000 at McKale Center. Also, the game ended with a siren and warning lights blinking throughout McKale for the final 49 seconds.
After redshirting freshman forward Mabil Mawut was ejected in the first half after taunting a player and responding to an officials, center Motiejus Krivas was called for Flagrant 1 foul early in the second half after both of his elbows appeared to contact the face of Bethune-Cookman’s Quinton Heady as he was spun while driving toward the basket.
Contact to the head can warrant a Flagrant 1 foul regardless of whether there was intention, though McKale Center fans booed the call relentlessly after officials reviewed it.
Heady then hit both ensuing free throws to cut UA’s lead to 55-41 thouigh the Wildcats went on to lead by more than 20 points starting witjh 14 minutes left.
In the first half, Krivas had 10 points and five rebounds in the first half to help Arizona take a 49-35 halftime lead.
Top-ranked Arizona had held San Diego State to just 26.3-percent shooting just two days earlier during a 68-45 win in Phoenix, but allowed Bethune-Cookman to make half of their 24 field goals before halftime.
Mawut also wound up allowing Bethune-Cookman to score another four points when he was whistled for a double-technical foul with 2:23 left in the half. While Bethune-Cookman's Tyler Andrews shot a 3-pointer from the left corner to cut UA's lead to 42-29, directly in front of the UA bench, Mawut stepped out of his seat and turned toward Andrews from just behind the baseline and appeared to speak as Andrews shot.
Mawut was called for a technical foul for taunting, then ejected for his ensuing response to an official, prompting UA trainer Justin Kokoskie to escort him from the floor and toward the Wildcats' locker room. B-CU's Jakobi Heady then his four resulting free throws, cutting UA's lead to 42-33.
Bethune-Cookman kept up with Arizona’s starters over the first four minutes of the game, tying it at 8-8 when Jordan Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 15:58 left. But Tobe Awaka, who picked up 15 rebounds in the Wildcats’ win over San Diego State on Saturday, ignited a 9-0 run almost immediately after entering the game.
Awaka took a pass from Koa Peat inside to score and break a 10-10 tie, then returned for a three-point play that gave UA a 15-10 lead, while Dwayne Aristode hit a 3-pointer with 10:56 left to give UA a 19-10 lead.
Bethune-Cookman later cut UA’s lead to 21-19 on a 3-pointer from Dailon Minor with nine minutes left and the Wildcats of Daytona Beach kept the game within two possessions until the final four minutes.
Arizona forward Tobe Awaka (30) scores on San Diego State forward Miles Heide during the second half Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Phoenix.
