LAHAINA, Hawaii β€” On a Maui Invitational opening day without surprises, the Arizona Wildcats did their part.

With double-doubles from forward Azoulas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, plus 17 points from newly reinstated guard Courtney Ramey, the 14th-ranked Wildcats beat Cincinnati 101-93 in the first-round game of college basketball’s top early-season event.

The Wildcats just didn’t quite run over the Bearcats the same way they did their first three opponents this season. While UA shot 62.0% from the field, the Wildcats gave a lot of it back on the other end: Cincinnati made 17 of 34 3-pointers for the game and shot 47.1% overall, numbers that allowed the Bearcats to stay in the game anytime Arizona threatened to make it a blowout.

"That's a staggering number," UA coach Tommy Lloyd said of the Bearcats' 3s. "We had some poor defensive execution and we’re better than that. Obviously there will be some great teaching tools from this game, but unfortunately there’s not a lot of time to learn.”

No, there isn’t. Arizona will return to the Lahaina Civic Center on Tuesday to face No. 17 San Diego State (4-0), an 88-77 winner over Ohio State earlier Monday, in the Maui Invitational semifinals on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.

The other semifinal features a Top 10 matchup between No. 9 Arkansas (4-0) and No. 10 Creighton (5-0), also relatively easy winners Monday.

In Monday's final game at the Civic Center, packed with over half Arizona fans, Tubelis had 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Wildcats while Ballo added 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Ramey, who scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, said the bigs also made things easier for the other guys.

β€œWhen you have Oumar and 'Zu working down low it kind of frees the guards up to get great looks,” Ramey said. β€œThey protected the paint.”

But with Cincinnati shooting 62.9% in the second half, the Wildcats needed all the offensive heroics they could get to stay ahead.

The Bearcats cut Arizona’s lead to single digits several times in the second half before the Wildcats bounced quickly back each time. That was in large part thanks to Ramey, who scored 14 of his 17 points after halftime.

Arizona stormed back with particular emphasis after Mika Adams-Woods hit a 3-pointer that cut UA’s lead to 81-74 with 5:29 left. Ballo dunked and later pulled down a rebound that led to a romp by Ramey, who was playing in his first UA game after sitting out the first three games of the season due to an NCAA suspension.

After Ballo's rebound, Ramey drove down the baseline for a layup, then celebreated a successive 3-pointer with a dance while heading back up the court. He also came downΒ  later to hit another 3 that made it 96-80 with 2:46.

Ramey was back, enjoying college basketball for the first time since leaving Texas and testing the NBA Draft last spring.

β€œCoach tells me to smile and show my personality,” Ramey said. β€œThat’s something different for me now. Being able to do it is pretty fun for me. My team allows me to be me.”

Ramey allowed the Wildcats to be their full selves, too. He sat out the Wildcats’ first three games of the regular season because the NCAA suspended him for playing in a predraft camp it did not certify, but started Monday’s game while fellow grad transfer Cedric Henderson came off the bench.

Henderson wound up playing 24 minutes while backup point guard Kylan Boswell logged just seven as Lloyd juggled his new backcourt rotation. Starting point guard Kerr Kriisa still played 36 minutes, with 11 points, seven assists and three turnovers.

β€œThe (backcourt) minutes is going to be a work in progress,” Lloyd said. β€œIt’s something I’ve got to get a feel for over the course of the year, and it might fluctuate a little bit.

Ramey "had (two) fouls in the first half but I put him back in because I trust him. But he’s got to deliver on that trust because he had a handful of defensive mistakes in the second half that stuck out to me. He’s gotta understand he’s playing in our system. He can’t make up his own rules.

β€œBut if he does his job -- and I know he will because he’s a high-character, great guy -- it’s really going to help him and it’s really going to help our team.”

Lloyd may have no such worries about Tubelis, who already became an all-Pac-12 player under Lloyd last season. The junior forward from Lithuania already hit his first double-double of this season with 10:18 still left to play, grabbing his 10th rebound to go with 26 points.

He had seven previous career double-doubles at UA, the last against Colorado (20 points and 10 rebounds) in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament last season. Tubelis also just missed tying his scoring high of 32 points set against Utah at McKale Center last season.

In the first half, Tubelis helped break Arizona out of an early scoring rut to take a 40-30 halftime lead. He had 14 points before halftime, shooting 5 for 11 from the field and collected seven rebounds.

Until Tubelis found his rhythm, the Wildcats initially struggled to move through the aggressive Cincinnati defense. They missed their first five shots, including ones from Tubelis and Pelle Larsson that were blocked.

β€œSomebody said it yesterday, and I think it’s a great analogy: It’s a step up in weight class,” Lloyd said. β€œYou’ve gotta stiffen up your chin a little bit and I thought for the most part our guys did a good job.”

Except for the fact that the Wildcats were never really able to put the game away, not with the Bearcats stuffing the nets with 3s at critical moments.

β€œI’ve probably got to do a better job of managing the last few minutes and making sure the lead doesn’t get reduced,” Lloyd said. β€œBut it did. … I never felt comfortable the way they were shooting. I was just wondering if that next run was just around the corner.”

The Wildcats could be even more uncomfortable Tuesday, facing a San Diego State team that doesn’t figure to allow UA to shoot 62% …or anything close to that.

Long known for their defensive success under former coach Steve Fisher and longtime assistant Brian Dutcher, who now is the Aztecs’ head coach, SDSU now has the No. 9 defensive efficiency in Division I.

β€œThey have a distinct style of play that they’re recruiting to and they’re developing," Lloyd said. "They do a really good job of getting veteran players to buy in to play a hard-hat type of system. We know it’s going to be a physical battle but we welcome that challenge because those are the types of teams you have to play in the NCAA Tournament.”

No. 14 Arizona handled Utah Tech 104-77 Thursday night at McKale Center. Kerr Kriisa scored a career-high 24 points on six made 3-pointers, while Azuolas Tubelis finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

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