Playing mostly without backcourt mate Justin Coleman, freshman guard Brandon Williams led Arizona to a 64-56 win over Colorado in its Pac-12 opener Thursday at McKale Center.
While starting at point guard in place of Coleman, who has suffered from an apparent shoulder injury and only played four minutes Thursday, Williams scored 15 points and had six assists. UA freshman Devonaire Doutrive contributed eight points off the bench — tying his career-high — while center Chase Jeter had seven points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
The Wildcats missed 1 of 10 3-pointers in the second half, shot 43.1 percent overall and were outrebounded 36-30. But UA scored 14 points off 17 Colorado turnovers and outscored CU in the paint 38-18.
The win moved Arizona to 10-4 overall and 1-0 in the Pac-12. The Wildcats will have a quick turnaround to play Utah at noon Saturday after the Utes upset ASU 96-86 in Tempe earlier Thursday.
Colorado dropped to 9-4 and 0-1.
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Up by 15 at halftime, UA maintained a comfortable lead early in the second half despite missing the first five 3-pointers it tried after halftime. The Wildcats hit a scoreless drought of 4:22 late in the second half, allowing Colorado to cut their lead to just 54-45 with 5:22 left, but a 3-pointer from Dylan Smith put the Wildcats back up by double digits with five minutes left.
Colorado later cut it to seven on a 3-pointer from D’Shawn Schwartz with 2:47 left, but Brandon Randolph hit a jumper and the Wildcats maintained more than a two-possession lead the rest of the way.
In the first half, Arizona shot 51.6 percent from the field and outrebounded Colorado 16-13 to take a 39-24 halftime lead.
Coleman played only four minutes in the first half and committed a turnover on a pass, then did not return in the second half. Before the game, Doutrive’s guardian tweeted that Coleman suffered a dislocated shoulder, though UA declined to say what his injury was before the game.
Colorado took an 11-6 early lead when it hit 5 of 6 shots to begin the game and took an early 4-1 rebounding edge over the Wildcats. But Arizona had 3-pointers from Ryan Luther and Randolph to help pull into a 14-13 lead with 11:34 left, then took a 19-13 lead after Doutrive hit two free throws, Williams made a three-point play.
The run eventually ended at 20-4, with UA taking a 31-17 lead on a layup from Williams with 4:37 to go.
With Coleman out of the starting lineup, UA coach Sean Miller shifted Williams over to point guard and started Smith at shooting guard, while he also played Doutrive and Alex Barcello early.
During halftime, Arizona honored Deandre Ayton at halftime for making its Ring of Honor. Ayton wore an Arizona letter jacket and a "242" basketball necklace, signifying the area code for his native Bahamas.
The Wildcats already held a Ring of Honor ceremony for Ayton and Jerryd Bayless in October at the Red Blue Game but Ayton wasn't able to attend.
The Suns center qualified for the honor by being last season's Pac-12 Player of the Year while Bayless did by spending 10 years in the NBA.
