TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Freshman guard Brandon Williams had his first career double-double and Brandon Randolph scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half when Arizona extended its nonconference home winning streak to 52 games with an 80-69 victory over Utah Valley at McKale Center on Thursday.
Williams had 15 points, a career-high 10 rebounds and five assists and Dylan Smith had 10 of his 13 points in the second half for the Wildcats, who trailed by 12 points at halftime but pulled away by shooting 61 percent in the second half.
Randolph made all of his four 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half to spark the comeback after the Wolverines built a 41-29 halftime lead. The Wildcats were 8 of 14 from 3-point range in the second half.
Jake Toolson had 20 points and eight rebounds, brother Conner Toolson had 13 points and TJ Washington scored 11 for the Wolverines, who were the Wildcats' 36th straight nonconference victim in the team's only other meeting in December, 2014.
Arizona has not lost at home since San Diego State took a 61-57 victory on Nov. 23, 2011.
Justin Coleman added 15 points for Arizona, which had a 36-26 rebounding advantage.
Coleman and Williams made 3-pointers as Arizona took an 18-11 lead five minutes into the game before the Wolverines went on a 9-0 run that grew to 21-4 for a 32-22 lead.
Washington had two 3-pointers and Jake Toolson had a 3-pointer and two free throws in that run, when Arizona made only one field goal in a 9-minute, 55-second span. Utah Valley took its biggest lead, 41-29, at halftime. Arizona shot 38.5 percent from the field in the first half.
Notes
- Arizona connected on 12 of 22 3-pointers Thursday night against Utah Valley. The 12 makes mark a season high and the .545 percentage is also the highest on the season for the Wildcats. The 12 total 3-pointers were the most by the Wildcats since hitting 12 against Long Beach State last season in a 91-56 win.
- Freshman guard Brandon Williams notched his first career double-double. Williams finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while also adding five assists. He's the first Arizona guard to have a double-double with points and rebounds since Rawle Alkins had 11 points and 15 rebounds at Arizona State on March 4, 2017.
- Redshirt junior guard Dylan Smith scored 13 points in 27 minutes Thursday. Smith has now scored in double figures in three straight games. Prior to this year, Smith had never scored in double figures in back-to-back games.
- Arizona scored 51 points in the second half Thursday and has now scored 50 or more points in the second half three times this season (Houston Baptist, Georgia Southern and Utah Valley).
- Sophomore forward Emmanuel Akot tied his career high with seven points Thursday and had a season-high four assists in 23 minutes.
- Chase Jeter picked up his 14th charge of the season. Alex Barcello also took a charge and Arizona upped its season total to 27 through nine games.
- Arizona outscored Utah Valley 51-28 in the second half and opened the half on a 16-2 run.
- The Wildcats have now won 52 straight non-conference home games and are 87-3 overall in their last 90 games at McKale Center.
Quotes
"I definitely got going. My teammates found me, and it hyped me up, the crowd up, hyped our whole team up, and I think it helped us move into the game a little more."
– Brandon Randolph on his four 3-pointers in the second half.
Â
"When someone told me on the bench, I was shocked when they said I had a double-double; I thought it was assists. As I said, it's just taking a load off of the guys: Ryan Luther, Chase (Jeter) and Ira (Lee). As a guard, that goes a long way."Â
-- Brandon Williams on notching a double-double with points and rebounds.
Â
"We didn't really get after them at halftime and that might be surprising. Our team doesn't have a great margin of error, especially against a team with skill and as experienced as Utah Valley. They did not catch us off guard. This wasn't a situation where we were still thinking about our UConn victory, it was just the opposite. We had excellent practices, our guys understood that Utah Valley has great size, unbelievable skill level, and they run their offense as well as any team we have faced this season. We knew we were in for a fight and it was great for us to respond the way we did at halftime."
– Coach Sean Miller on how his team responded in the second half.