Fast-paced Arizona Wildcats run away from Eastern New Mexico in 96-50 exhibition win

Ninety-six points scored. Seventy-two field goals taken. Five guys in double figures.

Yes, the Tommy Lloyd era is almost here.

In a 96-50 drubbing of Division II Eastern New Mexico on Monday at McKale Center, the Arizona Wildcats showed off the new pace they are expected to run under their new head coach, a longtime former assistant at famously up-tempo Gonzaga.

While Lloyd said there were still “some things to clean up,” in a comment that might be expected of any coach after any preseason exhibition game, the Wildcats mostly played with style and confidence. They shot 50% from the field and 39.4% from 3-point range, while converting 35 points off 22 Eastern New Mexico turnovers and holding the Greyhounds of Portales, N.M., to just 29.2% shooting.

Bennedict Mathurin led all scorers with 18 points, while center Christian Koloko also joined in the up-tempo fun with a 14-point, 10-rebound double double – and three other Wildcats also scored in double figures. Guard Justin Kier had 14 while hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers, forward Kim Aiken had 14 on 5-for-8 shooting and Azuolas Tubelis had 10 points.

For Kier, the super senior transfer from Georgia, it was not only about taking advantage of 3-point attempts that opened up but also in trying to push the tempo to Lloyd's liking. Kier played in an up-tempo scheme last season at Georgia but mostly played off the ball; at UA he has also been backing up point guard Kerr Kriisa.

“Coach Lloyd has tried to help me throughout practice and over a couple of weeks with just getting the pace right,” Kier said. “Not slowing it down, and continue to flow through the offense. I've gotten pretty good at it. I gotta continue to get better but I've got the hang of it a little bit.”

Even though Lloyd said Kriisa naturally plays fast – “That’s something I really, really like about him,” Lloyd said – even Kriisa has some adjusting to go through. The Estonian sophomore had four assists to no turnovers but shot just 2 of 10 from the field, missing all but one of the eight 3-pointers he took.

Lloyd said Kriisa needs to learn to mix in a jump stop here or there to slow down on occasion, but was hardly worried about his shooting – even as Kriisa notably celebrated in relief upon hitting a 3-pointer in the second half after five misses from beyond the arc.

“Kerr is really a good shooter and I felt comfortable with most all his shots tonight,” Lloyd said. “A 1 for 8 can turn into a 5 for 8 for him really easily, so I love when he's hunting threes like that.

“Now, we’ve just got to get when he hunts the three that our guys can't assume he's gonna make them. We've got to get super aggressive on the glass and have his back there with how we offensive rebound on his 3-point attempts.”

Still, Arizona did manage to collect 17 offensive rebounds off their 36 missed shots, scoring 19 second-chance points. The Wildcats also didn’t have to worry about Kier missing his shots, either.

Kier made a quick impact, hitting 3 3-pointers within a five-minute span over the middle of the half. He finished shooting 5 of 7 overall from the field, while collecting six rebounds and dishing three assists to just one turnover.

Kier said he had to adjust to how Eastern New Mexico went under a lot of UA’s ball screens unexpectedly but Lloyd said he was “really happy” with Kier’s play overall.

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“I thought Justin played like a veteran,” Lloyd said. “He played with a good pace. He’s kind of playing a little bit more point guard than he has and he’s kind of grown there.

"I think there's still room to grow but I love the pace that he was shooting with. When you have that type of movement, and you’re forcing defenses to make decisions, you need guys that are ready to shoot and to make them pay and I thought all his shots were spot on today.”

The Wildcats will have even more experience and skill at both guard spots when sophomore guard Pelle Larsson returns from a broken foot. Larsson has already rejoined the Wildcats fully in practices and, while he sat out Monday, Lloyd said he remains on track to return in time for UA’s regular-season opener on Nov. 9 against NAU.

Larsson is expected to start at shooting guard or at least play a major role off the bench at both guard spots. On Monday, Lloyd kept the four returning starters from the Wildcats’ season finale last season – Koloko, Tubelis, Mathurin and Kriisa – while he also started sophomore wing Dalen Terry, who started 14 of 26 games last season.

Lloyd went with Kier and Aiken first off the bench, then sophomore center Oumar Ballo, while playing Tubelis briefly at center in a small-ball formation. He later inserted freshmen wings Shane Nowell and Adama Bal, both of whom Lloyd said could help in spots.

Leading 50-31 at halftime, after Mathurin had 16 points in the first half to lead UA, the Wildcats kept expanding their lead throughout the second half. It was all but over by the time Koloko hit an open 3-pointer with 13 minutes left, after missing the only 3 he attempted last season. He already had 14 points and 10 rebounds at that point.

Kier and Aiken hit 3s shortly afterward, Aiken's shot from the top of the key early in a possession gave the Wildcats took a 77-40 lead with 9:01 left.

In an 18-second span with just under seven minutes to play, Tubelis then pushed the Wildcats’ lead to 85-43 with a layup and a dunk. From there, Lloyd played walk-on forward Jordan Mains in a lineup with Aiken, Ballo, and freshmen wings Shane Nowell and Adama Bal.

In all, Lloyd played all 12 scholarship players plus four walk-ons, with guard Ben Ackerley hitting a well-celebrated 3-pointer to give UA its final 96-50 score.

After all those good times, the Wildcats prepared to get back to work. They have just another week of practice remaining before hosting NAU, and there’s less than three weeks to go before they will face Wichita State and either Michigan or UNLV in Las Vegas.

Of those clean-up items to come in practice work, Lloyd said he thought the Wildcats settled too often for 3-pointers when they didn’t have to, but he said he also didn’t want to take their “confidence and spirit” away. Defensively, he had less to worry about, especially in comparison to UA’s Oct.23 closed scrimmage against Saint Mary’s.

“We were much better defensively, not (in terms of) effort, but just clean and not fouling as much,” Lloyd said. “You can pressure and be aggressive, but if you're fouling, it negates hustle. Then teams are going to shoot a bunch of free throws, which is the easiest way to score. So I thought we made gains there.

“And offensively, we finished a little bit better than we did against Saint Mary's, but I still think there's room for growth there as well.”