BERKELEY, Calif. — When Deandre Ayton threw down one of his patented dunk-and-flex moves Thursday, it led to a technical foul.
The Arizona Wildcats’ only regret was probably that it didn’t happen earlier.
By the time Ayton and Cal’s Don Coleman were called for offsetting technicals Wednesday at Haas Pavilion for jawing after Ayton’s dunk, the Wildcats were well on their way to an easy 79-58 win over the young but aggressive Bears.
At the beginning of the game, the Wildcats were a completely different team. Instead of loose and aggressive and having fun – like dunking on people – they appeared tense and nervous and unsure: Arizona turned the ball over five times in the first four minutes, and a season-high 21 times for the entire game.
“For a team like ours, every once in a while it just seems like we have some anxiety at the beginning of the game,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “Hopefully, we can get over that hurdle.”
If so, Parker Jackson-Cartwright will need to get them there. Jackson-Cartwright had three of the UA’s first five turnovers, all in the first four minutes, while his teammates stumbled behind his lead.
Then he went the entire rest of the game without a single turnover and wound up making 4 of 6 3-pointers, and dishing six assists — while the Wildcats also followed that lead, going ahead by up to 14 points in the first half and 26 in the second.
Jackson-Cartwright “set the tone with his made 3s,” Miller said. “Once he got through that first four-minute stretch he went out and did an excellent job.”
Miller blamed a lot of the UA’s turnovers on Cal’s defensive style, which aims to disrupt teams, and Jackson-Cartwright agreed.
“I think we were a little tentative against their zone and their press,” he said. “We knew their press was very active, very disruptive. But once we settled in and slowed down we got more poise, more sure of ourselves. We just kind of played how we usually play.”
Another issue Arizona had to overcome was the fact that starting forward Rawle Alkins sat out with soreness in his previously broken right foot. Miller said X-rays taken after Alkins first experienced pain in practice this week came back negative but wanted to take it cautiously and said Alkins also might not play on Saturday at Stanford.
“We don’t want any foot pain to creep back in and be a long-term problem,” Miller said. “Our initial assessment is that that’s not the case, but just for his peace of mind, his future, (we decided) to shut him down and not let him play. We’ll see how he responds. It’s a possibility that he will play (Saturday). But if he still has some pain he won’t.”
Dylan Smith offset much of Alkins’ production, scoring 14 points and hitting all four 3-pointers he took while starting in his place, and Ayton pulled out his usual double-double in remarkably efficient style: He was 9 for 11 from the field. Ayton broke the UA freshman double-double record with his 13th of the season — 20 points and 11 rebounds — and he’s on pace to also break the overall record of 22 set by Al Fleming in 1974-75.
The Wildcats also received 15 points from Allonzo Trier, while shooting 62 percent overall and making 11 of 19 3-pointers.
Defensively, the Wildcats were just as impressive: They held Cal to 35.3 percent shooting and just 1 of 13 3-point attempts while moving the UA to 15-4 overall and 5-1 in the Pac-12. The Bears dropped to 7-12 and 1-5.
Smith had 14 points on 5-for-5 overall shooting, while the Wildcats also had more help than usual off the bench.
Keanu Pinder had five rebounds in 11 minutes in reserve while Emmanuel Akot had three points, a rebound and a steal in 15 minutes. Ira Lee also had four rebounds but fouled out after just eight minutes played.
Up 36-26 at halftime after hitting 7 of 10 3-pointers in the first half, Arizona picked up where it left off with a quick 3 from Smith that helped the Wildcats build a 15-point lead before Cal gradually cut it to single digits, 53-44 with 12:39 left after Marcus Lee dunked for the Bears.
In the first half, Arizona shot 70 percent overall while holding Cal to just 34.5 percent shooting and 1-for-9 shooting from 3-point territory. That helped the UA overcome 11 turnovers in the first half.
