Tucson, AZ – Brandon Ashley hit all six of his shots from the floor and made 8-of-9 free throws en route to a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, as No. 10 Arizona thumped Long Beach State, 94-72, on Monday at McKale Center.
"Brandon Ashley was the best player on the court for us. Any time you get 20 and 10 in 24 minutes, that's terrific," Arizona coach Sean Miller said.
Kevin Parrom drained five 3-pointers without a miss for 15 points, while Solomon Hill added 15 points -- including 11-for-11 from the free throw line -- for the Wildcats (3-0), who were coming off a win over UTEP on Thursday.
Nick Johnson donated 12 points and five assists to the winning cause.
James Ennis put home a team-high 17 points to go with seven rebounds, while Peter Pappageorge added 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting for the 49ers (1-3). Kris Gulley and Deng Deng contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively, in defeat.
Arizona asserted its superiority early and often, racing out to a 13-5 lead less than five minutes into the game.
Gulley hit a trey before an official timeout to make it a five-point game, but the Wildcats used a 22-8 run to build a 35-16 advantage with just over eight minutes to play in the opening half.
Arizona's first-half lead reached 22 with just over six minutes to play and the Wildcats held a comfortable 50-37 advantage at the break. They shot a ridiculous 63 percent from the floor and 5-of-9 from 3-point range during the opening stanza.
Long Beach State never got close in the second 20 minutes as the Wildcats' lead reached as many as 30 en route to the easy victory.
Game Notes
Long Beach State has gone down by double digits in all three of its setbacks this season ... Arizona has won all four meetings between the teams, including a 91-57 triumph in the previous meeting on Nov. 15, 1995 ... The Wildcats shot 53.6 percent from the field overall.
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