LAHAINA, Hawaii – Azuolas Tubelis had 14 first-half points to help 14th-ranked Arizona break out of an early scoring rut and take a 40-30 halftiome lead over Cincinnati on Monday in the first round of the Maui Invitational.
Tubelis shot 5 for 11 from the field and collected seven rebounds while center Oumar Ballo added 10 points and four rebounds for the Wildcats, who shot 46.9% from the floor.
But it wasn’t always so easy for Arizona. The Wildcats found out right away that the game would be different than any of the three blowouts they collected at home over their first three games. Unable initially to move through the Cincinnati defense with much efficiency, the Wildcats missed their first five shots, including ones from Tubelis and Pelle Larsson that were blocked.
But Courtney Ramey, playing and starting in his first Arizona game after a three-game NCAA suspension to start the season, opened his season scoring efforts with a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Wildcats a 7-6 lead with 16:19. Both teams found more offense from there. Arizona took a 14-13 lead on a 3 from Cedric Henderson, who moved to the bench with Ramey now eligible, while Tubelis dunked to make it 16-13 with 13:15 left.
People are also reading… Tubelis then thundered back by stealing the ball from Cincinnati’s Jarrett Hensley and racing in for a dunk to make it 37-24 while Oumar Ballo saved what nearly became a broken play and scored a minute later.The winner of Monday’s final game will face San Diego State, an 88-77 winner over Ohio State, in the Maui Invitational semifinals on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.
Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community.Bruce is a veteran Star sports reporter who has also worked at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He graduated from Northwestern University and has an MBA from Thunderbird.
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