Arizona perimeter leads Wildcats to 93-64 win over Canisius in season opener at McKale Center

With projected starting center Motiejus Krivas back just in time, the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats showed off a little of everything they were supposed to in their season opener Monday.

In their 93-64 win over Canisius, UA coach Tommy Lloyd threw out a wave of talented post players that included two 7-footers — Krivas and Estonian sophomore Henri Veesaar — who sometimes roamed the court at the same time.

Lloyd also leaned as expected on the Wildcats’ well-regarded veteran perimeter trio of Caleb Love, Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis, who combined for 46 points, 14 assists — and only one turnover. Defensively, UA flashed a little press, too.

At the same time, the Wildcats also proved they were human.

Before a less-than-energetic late-evening crowd of about 10,000 people at McKale Center, the Wildcats raced to 13-0 and 20-2 leads in the opening minutes, tested a variety of looks and schemes while using 10 different guys … but never really kicked the low-major Griffins out of the place.

“As a competitor, you get up that much and it’s kind of easy,” said guard Jaden Bradley, who packed in a dunk, steal and layup into 13 seconds at one point early. “It’s kind of easy to let your foot off the gas. But coach (Tommy) Lloyd has been on us, like '(hit the) turbo power button. Just keep going. And not try to let runs for the other team.'”

Sometimes that's a pipe dream. Lloyd noted that “human nature can be powerful,” and that many of the 10 scholarship players he used Monday were new to college basketball or his program, testing the efficiency some of his units displayed on the court.

“By any stretch, it doesn’t mean if it’s 20 to four, that you're going to be up 40 to eight, and then you're going to be up 80 to 16,” Lloyd said. “That's just not how it works. I wish it did sometimes, but it doesn't.”

As it turned out, all of the Wildcats' key newcomers struggled in one way or another.

Freshman wing Carter Bryant had just six points and one rebound while missing all three 3-pointers he took while Arizona’s three transfers, all expected to play significant roles this season, dipped at times.

Center Tobe Awaka, a transfer from Tennessee, had nine rebounds but only four points while shooting 1 of 3 from the field. Forward Trey Townsend, the mid-major player of the year last season at Oakland, had six rebounds but just two points on 1-for-4 shooting. And wing Anthony Dell’Orso, Campbell’s leading scorer last season, had seven points while shooting just 1 of 9 from the field.

The new guys weren’t available for comment afterward but Lewis said it was “just first-game jitters” that devolved the Wildcats’ efforts somewhat.

“The new guys and everybody that came in, we’re still building,” Lewis said. “We’re just gonna take this film and on Wednesday (at practice), we’re gonna hit it hard.”

The Wildcats will have one more warmup to prepare for their first big test of the season, at Wisconsin on Nov. 15, by hosting Old Dominion on Saturday at McKale Center. The Monarchs, coincidentally, lost to Canisius’ neighbor, Buffalo, 83-82 on Monday thanks to a late 3-point game-winner.

While Lloyd fretted over how to mesh his array of lineups into a more consistent, cohesive rotation, he also had plenty to feel good about Monday. Especially in his backcourt.

The Wildcats’ veteran perimeter trio was efficient and productive throughout the game.

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Love, a preseason all-American, led the Wildcats by collecting 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting, along with four rebounds and six assists. Bradley had 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting while adding four rebounds and four assists, and Lewis had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.

“Anytime you're at a program like Arizona and you have a group of guards that have played together one year come back to next year, it's really pretty rare in this day and age,” Lloyd said. “I feel like you're playing with veterans, juniors and seniors. And they are. They're veteran players and and they've really grown together as players, and they really support each other. So that was good to see."

Inside, the Wildcats received nine points from Krivas and eight points from Veesaar, who may have been their biggest preseason surprise after sitting out last season with a dislocated elbow.

Overall, Arizona shot 51.5% from the field and cleaned up many of its missed shots, scoring 19 second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds. Canisius shot 46.2% from the field but coughed up 19 turnovers that led to 26 Arizona points.

Up 52-30 at halftime, the Wildcats led by up to 32 points in the second half despite allowing Canisius to shoot 45.5% in the first 16 minutes after halftime. The only real drama came with 5:06 left in the game, when Canisius’ Jasman Sangha was ejected after trying to stop UA’s Veesaar from dunking with one hand.

Sangha appeared to pull Veesaar’s non-shooting arm, and Veesaar glared at him afterward. After a review, officials ruled it a Flagrant 2 on Sangha, requiring an immediate ejection, but also handed Veesaar a Class A Technical for the glare, meaning Veesaar could take only two free throws instead of four.

“I’d rather have four free throws,” Lloyd said. “Today that might not have mattered, but I'm sure at some point in the season, there's going to be a heated moment on the road, and it’s how do your guys respond?

“Listen, it’a fine line. I mean, I get it: Guys get pissed. Something like that happens and you want to respond, but you’ve also got to calculate winning into the equation.”

Veesaar hit one of two ensuing free throws and initially stayed in the game but then left the floor with athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie. Lloyd said after the game that he didn’t think Veesaar was hurt.

In the first half, Love had 10 points and four assists to lead the Wildcats to that 52-30 halftime lead.

UA shot 45.5% in the first half while holding Canisius to 40.0%. The Wildcats also made 18 trips to the line, hitting 13 free throws, while scoring 13 points off 10 Canisius turnovers, even throwing out an extended pressure defense at the Griffins.

Krivas logged four minutes off the bench in the first half after gradually working his way back in practices over the past month. After having played for Lithuania in the FIBA U20 EuroBasket event last July, he experienced discomfort in his ankle area during early preseason practices after reporting to Tucson. 

“He's right there,” Lloyd said. “It's probably the most he's gone up and down consecutively even in practices. So I think he's on target, and we’ll have another good week to kind of see where he's at.”

Meanwhile, freshman center Emmanuel Stephen wore street clothes, though Lloyd said a final decision has not yet been made on whether he will redshirt. Stephen is not projected to make UA's playing rotation this season and, under current NCAA rules, he cannot play in any regular-season games if he wants to qualify for a non-injury redshirt.

“We're still talking, and it’s not an easy decision,” Lloyd said. “Sometimes, they've been playing their whole lives, and they're excited to be here. But it's my job to kind of help them see reality and think of the big picture a little bit, and also think of the big picture for the program, as well.”

Photos: Arizona defeats Canisius 93-64 at the McKale Center, men's college basketball