STILLWATER, Okla. – With a cold lingering in his throat and plenty to, um, discuss with officials Tuesday night at Oklahoma State, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd brought a hoarse voice to his postgame press conference and pretty much tapped out.
“I probably got nothing interesting to say,” Lloyd said.
It didn’t matter, really. The play of Caleb Love and Trey Townsend were statements enough in the Wildcats’ 92-78 win over the Cowboys, with Love pouring in 27 points and Townsend tying his season-high 19 in the Wildcats' first-ever game inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (1) during the first half against Baylor Jan. 14, 2025, in Tucson.
For both of them, it was a redemptive moment of sorts. The Wildcats’ leading scorer, Love had been held to single digits in three of the Wildcats’ past four games, while Townsend was shooting just 34.9% and averaging just 7.0 points over six previous Big 12 games.
On Tuesday, Townsend hit 7 of 8 shots and hit all four free throws he took.
“Obviously, the few Big 12 games, I haven't really played up to the expectations that people had of me, that I had of myself,” Townsend said. “But I've had some good talks with my teammates and the staff. And I really just wanted to come today and just give 100% effort, and then everything else would come with that.”
Love described it pretty much the same way, after scoring his 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting, including 4 of 9 3-pointers.
“My teammates and coaches have been trusting me, and I wanted to come out here and play as best as I could on both ends of the floor,” Love said. “Obviously I haven't been holding up on my end, obviously the offensive end. But at the end of the day, I know that my teammates and my coaches are rocking with me, whether I play good or bad, and that's all that really matters to me.”
Love and Townsend’s production helped the Wildcats easily survive on a night when starting center Tobe Awaka fouled out after just 15 minutes and backup center Henri Veesaar had four fouls in 12 minutes.
It also helped the Wildcats that Lloyd was able to get nine serviceable minutes out of freshman center Emmanuel Stephen, a high-potential but still raw big man who had agreed to come out of a planned redshirt season last month when UA was moving toward shelving center Motiejus Krivas for the season.
“I love that E has elected to play,” Lloyd said. “When Krivas went out, E-man can be pretty persuasive and persistent. He really wanted to play. I told him there might not be many opportunities. He didn’t care. He just wanted to help the team.”
Stephen collected three rebounds and turned the ball over twice during his time on the floor, and the Wildcats actually came close to needing yet another big guy. On top of seeing his bigs get in early foul trouble, Lloyd also watched Townsend snap his neck back when the arm of Oklahoma State’s Bryce Thompson elevated into his upper body.
Lloyd asked for a review of the play but did not do so until after there had been a deadball, so officials ruled it was too late to ask.
“That’s on me,” Lloyd said. “I wasn’t adamant about it. And I still haven't seen the play, but people that did thought maybe (it would be) called a flagrant foul. But, hey, onward and upward.”
Townsend was forced to feel the same way, however much his neck may or may not have moved.
He received a compliment of sorts instead.
“It caught me off guard, an elbow to the neck area, but the ref told me he didn't call it because I didn't really move too much,” Townsend said. “So I guess that was a little too strong of the screen.”
While Townsend scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, when Arizona took a four-point halftime lead and turned it into a 14-point victory, Love especially damaged the Cowboys in two pivotal segments, one in each half.
Helping UA pull out a 43-39 lead at halftime with 10-first half points, Love nailed a 3-pointer just 23 seconds into the second half and the Wildcats also received a layup from Townsend to quickly take a nine-point lead.
Love then hit two more 3s around the 16-minute mark that helped UA go on an 8-0 run and take a 61-48 lead with 15:11 left.
The Wildcats led by double-digits nearly all the rest of the way, taking an 85-66 lead with 5:36 left when Townsend hit a 3.
Love also helped the Wildcats start pulling out of what was a tight game in which Oklahoma State led by up to six points in the first half and still had a lead with just under five minutes to go before halftime.
A 3-pointer and jumper from Carter Bryant helped the Wildcats tie the game at 30 with 4:29 left before Love made two layups, setting himself up for the second one by stealing the ball from OSU’s Jamryon Keller.
After Thompson hit two layups to tie the game at 36 with 1:53 left in the first half, Love hit another layup and the Wildcats never trailed again.
Arizona wound up shooting 56.1% from the field and turned the ball over only eight times against an Oklahoma State team that ranked 30th nationally in defensive steal percentage.
All that helped the Wildcats move to a 12-6 overall record and 6-1 in the Big 12 with three conference road wins already despite a 70-54 loss Saturday at Texas Tech. Lloyd also picked up his 100th win in three-plus seasons as the Wildcats' coach while the Cowboys dropped to 10-8 and 2-5.
“Really proud of these guys," Lloyd said. "I felt like we were in a good place. We didn't play great against a tough Texas Tech team. We needed to respond. And I thought our guys did it today, and it was beautiful that it didn't come easy. We had to hang in there.”
