TUCSON, Ariz. – As they wrapped up exhibition play with their second home game in a week, No. 10/11 Arizona outlasted Chico State by a score of 78-70 courtesy of 86.1 percent shooting at the foul line and just six turnovers as a team.

Lauri Markkanen led the way for Arizona with 21 points and seven rebounds, all seven of which came in the second half. The freshman was incredibly efficient as he shot 5-10 from the field, 3-4 from downtown and 8-8 from the line. He scored 10 points in the first half and followed that up with 11 points in the second half.

Kadeem Allen and Dusan Ristic also contributed in the scoring department as both scored in double figures. Allen finished with 15 points while Ristic put up 14 points.  

Once again, the Arizona backcourt took care of the basketball as Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Allen combined to have an assist-to-turnover ratio of ten assists to just three turnovers.
The free throw line was kind to Arizona as they shot 31-36 from the charity stripe. Three Wildcats (Rawle Alkins, Allen and Markkanen) each made at least six free throws as they combined to shoot 21-23. Overall, Arizona outscored Chico State 31-7 from the line.

The visiting Wildcats of Chico State got off to a hot start as they led Arizona 19-15 at the under-12 media timeout. Chico State would eventually extend their lead to 12 with 9:43 left in the first half, but that's as big as their lead would get all game. Chico State opened the game with 73 percent shooting from the field in the first six minutes before finishing the half connecting on 15 of 28 shots (.536) from the field. The hot shooting included 50.0 percent from deep on 12 attempts.

Arizona took their first lead of the game at the 5:49 mark on a layup by Keanu Pinder to make the score 30-29. It took four forced turnovers and a 13-0 run in 1:28 by Arizona to get to that point. The run would eventually extend to 16-0 after Lauri Markkanen drilled his second three-pointer of the game.

Chico State responded well though as they finished the first half on an 11-4 run to give them a 40-37 lead at the half.

Arizona started the second half outscoring Chico State 14-4 in the first five minutes. Chico State fought back as Robert Duncan and Corey Silverstrom made three-straight three-pointers between the two of them to cut the Arizona lead to one at the 7:35 mark.

The lead was just three for Arizona at the one minute mark, but Jackson-Cartwright found Ristic for a wide open layup to extend their lead to 75-70 with 38 seconds remaining. Alkins then grabbed his third rebound of the game on a missed Chico State three pointer and Allen made a free throw to put the game out of reach.

The regular season gets going for Arizona as they head to Hawaii to face off against No. 12/9 Michigan State in the 2016 State Farm Armed Forces Classic on Friday, Nov. 11. The game is set to tip off at 5 p.m. MST.