Still with a pretty hot shooting hand, Arizona guard Jemarl Baker brought a few friends along for the ride this time.

After Baker poured in 33 to help Arizona clobber NAU on Monday, he was one of six Wildcats scoring eight or more points in their 85-70 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday at McKale Center.

The Wildcats (4-0) had 21 assists on their 27 made baskets while shooting 48.2% from the field and making 12 of 28 3-pointers.

Their smooth, determined offensive effort carried over on the other end of the court. UA allowed Bakersfield (1-2) to shoot 40.4% overall but kept the Roadrunners to just 4-of-17 field goal shooting and just 4 of 17 3s. The Wildcats also stuffed in 16 points off 13 Bakersfield turnovers.

"One thing I will tell you is our team has played with an edge to us this year," UA coach Sean Miller said. "I think we're really locked in on trying to be a better group and better team. We play nine quality players and on different nights, different players can step up and play well."Β 

While Baker scored 15 against the Roadrunners on Wednesday, hitting 3 of 7 from long range, backup guard Terrell Brown was even hotter.

Arizona Wildcats guard Dalen Terry (4) shoots the ball during a fast break the first half of the Arizona Wildcats vs CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners men's basketball game at McKale Center, 1721 E. Enke Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. on Dec. 9, 2020.

A grad transfer who averaged 20.7 points for Seattle University last season, Brown put up his first double-digit effort for the Wildcats on Wednesday with 16 points and 4-for-8 3-point shooting while also dishing six assists.

Benn Mathurin added another 15 points on a variety of shots while point guard James Akinjo had eight points and seven assists. Azuolas Tubelis had 12 points while going to the line to hit 9 of 10 free throws, and Dalen Terry 10.

They were feeling it, together.

β€œI feel like I can trust my teammates," Mathurin said. "I know if I can do it, my teammates can also."

Brown said the Wildcats long preseason allowed them to get to know each other β€” and their games.

β€œI feel like everyone on this team can play. I know that for a fact,” he said. β€œSo it’s just about sharing the ball.”

Arizona cruised past Cal State Bakersfield 85-60 Wednesday night at McKale Center. UA guard Terrell Brown finished with 16 points and 6 assists, while freshman wing Bennedict Mathurin tallied a career-high 15 points and 6 rebounds.

Leading 46-26 at halftime, UA kept up the pressure early in the second half, taking a 54-31 lead five minutes into the second half while the Roadrunners made just 2 of 8 shots.

Meanwhile, Christian Koloko erupted with a memorable flurry of early second-half scoring. Koloko dunked on an assist from Akinjo and, after Akinjo missed a 3-pointer a minute later, picked up the miss and stuffed it back in to give UA a 52-31 lead.

Koloko later scored inside on an assist from Mathurin, putting UA ahead 56-37 after a 3 from Bakersfield’s Justin Edler-Davis had cut it to 54-37.

Brown said Koloko’s performance wasn’t surprising.

β€œWe see this every day with Christian” at practice, he said. β€œHe probably blocked a lot of shots from me driving to the basket, so we know what Christian can do. It’s not a surprise, you know. His progression is coming. He’s a really great player.’

In the first half, Baker and Brown led Arizona to a 46-26 halftime lead. Baker hit a 3-pointer to start the Wildcats’ scoring and finished with 10 points in the half while hitting 4 of 5 shots and 2 of 3 from 3-point range.

Brown had 11 points in the half, hitting 3 of 5 3s, while adding four assists.

The Arizona Wildcats bench reacts while Arizona Wildcats guard Dalen Terry (4) waits on defense after draining a three-pointer during the first half of the Arizona Wildcats vs CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners men's basketball game at McKale Center, 1721 E. Enke Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. on Dec. 9, 2020.

The Roadrunners, who took a nine-hour bus ride to Tucson on Tuesday after beating Bethesda on Monday at home, were outscored 20-7 over the final 7:48 of the first half.

Arizona jumped on the Roadrunners early, scoring nine points off four Bakersfield turnovers over the first five minutes of the game to take an 11-6 lead into the first media timeout.

Bakersfield crept within 14-12 after getting two jumpers from Justin McCall and an inside basket from Shawn Stith but the Wildcats never lost their lead over the final 18 minutes of the second half.

After Bakersfield cut UA’s lead to 19-17 on a 3-pointer form Grehlon Easter, UA went on a 14-2 lead over less than five minutes midway through the half to go ahead 33-19.

Freshman guard Kerr Kriisa joined his Arizona teammates in the second row of the bench Wednesday, his first appearance with the team since ending his required isolation period following his return from Estonia on Dec. 3.

Miller said after the game that Kriisa should be cleared to practice with the Wildcats by the end of the week, though he remains unable to play in games while stuck in the NCAA's Eligibility Center.

In part because the NCAA has yet to clear him, Kriisa returned to his native country to play for his national team in a FIBA EuroBasket game against Russia on Nov. 27.

Kriisa returned to Tucson five days later but could not rejoin the team because of COVID-19 protocols. UA players also had to isolate for a week upon joining the team for preseason work in August.

The Wildcats had all 11 expected players available, and assistant coach Jason Terry was back on the bench after follow-up COVID-19 tests were negative following what the school called an β€œinconclusive” one that kept him off the bench against NAU.Β 

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Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at 573-4146 or bpascoe@tucson.com. On Twitter @brucepascoe