Arizona Wildcats score most under Tommy Lloyd in 122-59 win over Morgan State in opener

Vowing to clean up some sloppy preseason ballhandling before playing at Duke on Friday, the Arizona Wildcats did it one step better in their season opener Monday against Morgan State.

They also took care of the Bears' ballhandling for them.

In a 122-59 win at McKale Center, the Wildcats scored 41 points off 25 Morgan State turnovers, delighting the crowd of about 12,000 fans with easy dunks and layups while also demonstrating the sort of efficiency and confidence needed to visit Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium.

What’s more: After coughing up 24 turnovers a week earlier in an exhibition win over Division II New Mexico Highlands, the Wildcats had only seven on Monday.

“That was kind of our main focus,” said guard Kylan Boswell, who led the Wildcats with 18 points. “It was our first game of the season and we were trying to prove ourselves and what we can do with the ball. There was more focus.”

The Wildcats also kept control of the ball by pulling down 22 offensive rebounds on their 34 missed shots, an almost unheard-of 65% offensive rebounding percentage.

“Seven turnovers is a tremendous number in a high-possession game, and the offensive rebounding is something else we really emphasize,” Lloyd said. “If you can control turnovers and create second opportunities on the offensive glass, that’s a pretty dynamic combination that’s going to allow you to be really efficient on offense.

“I was proud of our guys. The message obviously got through.”

The Wildcats’ 122 points surpassed their previous high under Lloyd set during a 117-75 win over Nicholls in their opener last season, though it was five short of the McKale Center record UA set in 1997-98 in a 127-98 win over ASU. The 122 points was also 11 shy of UA’s 133-point record output against Duquesne in 1987-88.

But their victory margin of 63 also surpassed their previous Lloyd-era high set two seasons ago, when the Wildcats drubbed UTRGV 104-50 in Lloyd’s second game as their head coach, and was just one off the school record of 64 points in a 118-54 win over Robert Morris in 1996-97.

But while all those numbers told the story pretty well, Lloyd was checking out his guys' body language.

It looked pretty good to him, too.

“I’m more focused on the effort and energy, and I think for the most part, we hit that standard today,” Lloyd said. “That’s something we really want to establish. You don’t get awards for how you play in your first game and I think we have a mature group that understands that. I think we’re looking forward to the next game and seeing what we can do.”

On Monday, the Wildcats did a little bit of everything. Boswell was one of seven Wildcats scoring in double figures, while senior wing Pelle Larsson returned from an ankle injury to score 15 points. Also on the wings, Caleb Love scored all 12 of his points in the first half while reserve Filip Borovicanin had 11 points.

After scoring 28 points off 14 Morgan State turnovers in the first half, Arizona picked up where it left off after halftime: Larsson, Boswell and even Ballo recorded steals they quickly turned into fast-break baskets in the first four minutes after halftime.

Ballo took the ball from 6-foot Morgan State sophomore Demajion Topps just behind the center court stripe, then dribbled it in all by himself.

“That was good,” Lloyd said. “I thought he gathered himself and collected himself. Sometimes when you see a big guy out there in transition like that, you take a breath. They’re putting their body in a position it doesn’t get into very often.”

Ballo’s dunk capped an 11-0 Arizona run that put the Wildcats up 76-30 with 16:23 left to play and Arizona coasted the rest of the first half. Lloyd played all 11 available scholarship players --- Henri Veesaar is out with an elbow injury while Dylan Anderson has opted to redshirt – and went with largely walk ons over the final few minutes.

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After the game, Lloyd confirmed that sophomore forward Dylan Anderson has chosen to redshirt, saying he felt Anderson had all-conference potential if he sticks around.

“We had a meeting in my office and he came in, sat down and said, `Coach, I don’t ever want to leave Arizona,’ “ Lloyd said. “I said `Dylan, I don’t want you to ever leave either.’ There’s a love for each other and a respect for each other. Sometimes with how these rosters break down it’s tough. You can only play five guys at a time but Dylan’s ready to play.”

Lloyd said he also discussed redshirting with Spanish freshman guard Conrad Martinez. But after Martinez said he was OK with whatever Lloyd wanted, the coach said he didn’t want to leave the Wildcats a player short.

“He’s a really good basketball player who is going to have a lot of great moments at Arizona,” Lloyd said of Martinez. “I have 100% belief that I could put him in a tough game if we’re struggling and he could come in the game and make that play. He’s fearless.”

Even without Anderson and sophomore forward Henri Veesaar, who is out with an unspecified elbow injury, Lloyd still has 11 available scholarship players and he used them all at least 12 minutes Monday.

Larsson's return from an ankle injury that kept him out for the Wildcats’ two exhibition games brought them quickly to almost full strength. Larsson scored 13 points in the first half to help the Wildcats take a 63-26 halftime lead.

“Pelle is a great player,” Lloyd said. “His experience in our system is so valuable, and he plays so hard and so smart. I just think the more we have him out there with the other guys, in this crucial early part of the season, you get real reps. And when you get real reps, you can kind of dig in and really learn from them.”

Larsson started at small forward after practicing fully over the weekend. He joined a starting lineup that also included Ballo at center, Johnson at power forward, Love at shooting guard and Boswell at point guard.

After the first media timeout, however, Lloyd shifted to a smaller lineup with four perimeter players that featured Larsson and guard KJ Lewis as power forwards of a sort. Midway through the half, 7-2 freshman Motiejus Krivas teamed with Johnson in the post to make a bigger lineup again and the Wildcats used both formations throughout the game.

Krivas finished the first half with a dunk at the buzzer off a missed shot by Arizona guard Jaden Bradley, while Johnson earlier dunked in a miss by Lewis. Johnson finished with nine points and five rebounds. Boswell had 11 points and three rebounds.

"We're Arizona basketball. We're all family," Johnson said. "Between the summer and now, we've been doing a great job of building our chemistry on and off the court. That's what you are all seeing now and it's still gonna get better from there."

Over the first 12 minutes of the game, Lloyd turned to the bench for Lewis, Bradley, Krivas and Borovicanin, while Lithuanian freshman forward Paulius Murauskas became the 10th Wildcat to get in the game in with 7:47 left to play.

As it turned out, the Wildcats easily avoided the stumbles they had last season against Morgan State in what was their final game before their Christmas break. In its 93-68 win last season, Arizona actually trailed more often in the first half than it led Morgan State, but the Wildcats led from start to finish this time.

The Wildcats held the Bears to just 35.7% shooting in the first half, scored 28 points off 14 Morgan State turnovers and doubled up the visitors from Baltimore in rebounding, 28-14.

Maybe some of that sense of urgency was due to the immediate task ahead. Lloyd said the Wildcats should be focused for any season opener but he also spoke at length about the challenge of playing at Duke.

Arizona has beaten Duke in their last two matchups -- at New York early in the 2013-14 season and in the 2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 – but hasn’t played the Blue Devils on their campus since 1989-90.

“I mean, listen, it’s Arizona vs. Duke,” Lloyd said. “I think that’s enough said right there.”

Photos: Arizona men's hoops opens '23-'24 season by dropping 122 points on Morgan State