Arizona guard James Akinjo (13) tangles with Montana guard Brandon Whitney (12) while driving the baseline in the first half of their game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., December 22, 2020.

 Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

His confidence unshaken by a rough game at Stanford, guard James Akinjo stayed aggressive while scoring 18 points and collecting five assists to lead Arizona over Montana, 70-64, on Tuesday at McKale Center.

Akinjo, who shot just 2 of 8 from the field and 2 of 9 from the free throw line in UA’s 78-75 loss to Stanford on Saturday, had 18 points on 5 of 16 shooting this time. He made just 2 of 8 3s but hit all six free throws he took.

"I just wanted to stick with it, stay aggressive and get the best shot possible every time down," Akinjo said. "In basketball, you're going to have tough nights. You can't let that change your approach. I just wanted to come in and do the same thing I always do."

Jordan Brown added 15 points and six rebounds, hitting all five field goals he took, while the Wildcats shot 51.9% in the second half to pull away from the Griz in their final game before Christmas. Four other UA players had seven points or more.

The Wildcats shot just 42.1% overall from the field and and made only 3 of 14 3-pointers – while also making just 19 of 34 free throws. Combined with a 12-for-23 free-throw effort against Stanford, UA made just 54.3% of its free throws over the past two games.

β€œMoving forward, we’re not going to have the luxury of shooting 55% and winning,” Miller said. β€œThat’s one of several things that really hurt us at Stanford. We were just really poor from the free-throw line and that hurt us. So we’re working on it.”

But the Wildcats helped make up for it by scoring 14 points off 19 Montana turnovers and collecting 10 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds. Arizona committed only eight turnovers.

The win improved UA to 6-1 heading into a short break before the hosting Colorado on Monday.

The Wildcats trailed 36-29 at the end of the first half but, as he did Saturday against Stanford, guard Jemarl Baker came out aggressively. Baker scored six points on 3-for-3 shooting over the first four minutes of the second half to pull UA within a point of Montana, 41-40.

The Wildcats went on to take a 49-46 lead when Terrell Brown hit a 12-foot bank shot with 9:54 left, but Montana’s Josh Vazquez responded with a wide-open 3 in the right corner to tie the game at 49 heading into a timeout with 9:35 remaining.

But the Wildcats later went on an 8-2 run to take a 64-56 lead with 2:44 left when Azuolas Tubelis hit a corner 3. Akinjo also hit a 3-pointer on the break to start the run, while Christian Koloko took a pass from Akinjo and dunked it.

Montana then called a timeout, having shot just 31.3% to that point while Arizona made 53.8% of its shots from the field.

In the first half, while Akinjo’s shot came back, most of the Wildcats struggled to shoot well while falling behind 36-29.

Arizona head coach Sean Miller slams the ball down after the Wildcats picked up a foul on a Montana three-point attempt in the second half of their game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., December 22, 2020.

The Wildcats shot just 33.3% from the field and made only 1 of 8 3s before halftime while also making just 8 of 16 free throws, staying in the game in part by scoring six points off eight Griz turnovers.

Montana shot 52.2% while making 3 of 6 3s and all nine free throws it took, though it did not score off Arizona’s three turnovers and also trailed the Wildcats 18-17 in rebounding.

Akinjo had shot only 8 of 31 from the field over his last three games and hit just 2 of 9 free throws Saturday. But he was 4 for 8 from the field to lead the Wildcats in first-half scoring Tuesday with nine points.

Jordan Brown was the Wildcats’ other steady contributor in the first half, with nine points on 3-for-3 shooting and five rebounds.

While both teams played within one possession of each other for most of the first half, Montana took a 32-24 lead when Robby Beasley hit a 3-pointer with 3:33 left.

Arizona coach Sean Miller made the first change to his starting lineup of the season, going with Tubelis instead of Christian Koloko while moving Jordan Brown from power forward to center.

Tubelis scored two points on the half, missing all four free throws he took but finished with eight points and nine rebounds, plus a bullseye high-post assist to Bennedict Mathurin for a second-half dunk.

"We're working on this in our practices, so I can always pass the ball," Tubelis said of the dish to Mathurin. "We have some different options."

Arizona forward Jordan Brown (21), left, and forward Azuolas Tubelis (10) sandwich Montana forward Michael Steadman (1) and forward Kyle Owens (0) while fighting to bring down a rebound in the second half of their game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., December 22, 2020.

The Wildcats and Grizzlies had two ties and three lead changes through the first 12 minutes. Montana took an 18-14 lead with 11:07 left in the first half on a 3-pointer from Beasley but Akinjo returned with a 17-footer to cut the lead to two and a dunk from Tubelis tied it at 18 before the Griz led for the rest of the half.

The game was Arizona’s seventh of the season so far against seven cancellations or postponements, and the last scheduled before Christmas. The Wildcats won't be able to go home because of the short break and COVID protocols but Akinjo said he was looking forward to some time off.

"I want to recover," Akinjo said. "I want to get my body right."

Arizona’s game with San Diego on Monday was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns with the Toreros, leaving the Wildcats with one more nonconference game to play if it wants to during the Pac-12 season.

Ryan Reynolds, Arizona’s director of basketball operations, said the Wildcats would not try to squeeze in another nonconference game before playing Colorado and probably not at least until Arizona returned from its trip to Washington and Washington State over New Year’s weekend.

It is possible the Wildcats could add one in last-minute if there is a postponement with a future Pac-12 game, or they could do so early in one of the weeks they are only scheduled to face ASU.

Arizona had all 11 active scholarship players available Tuesday. Freshman guard Kerr Kriisa, who learned Monday he will be eligible starting on Feb. 6, sat on the team bench with a mask on.

Arizona moved in several more cardboard fans for the game, including ones of Tucson singing legend Linda Ronstadt and several cartoon characters including famous felines Tony the Tiger, Tigger and Hobbes.

Β 

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