By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
January 16, 1998

UA runs ASU into submission

Chris Richards Arizona Daily Wildcat UA sophomore guard Mike Bibby tries to sneak a pass through Sun Devil defense during last night's game. Bibby finished the night with 23 points and eight assists.

For Arizona senior Miles Simon, last night's 127-99 victory over Arizona State boiled down to one thing.

"They have good players," he said. "We have great players."

Alas, the Wildcats also had more players.

Arizona State plays primarily with a six-man rotation while the Wildcats - thanks to the return of center Donnell Harris after a 14-game layoff - went 10 deep off the bench.

"The pace was way too high for us to sustain for 40 minutes," Arizona State head coach Don Newman said. "We put up a strong fight and woke them up early. It was like two heavyweight fighters."

Arizona State came out running and gunning but midway through the first half they were gasping and wheezing and the Wildcats were still dodging and weaving. Then, they went for the knockout. A 25-4 run over the last nine minutes of the half put the Wildcats up 63-44 at the break.

"We just started pushing it down the floor," said Simon, who finished with 22 points and seven assists. "It was only a matter of time."

Mike Batiste had a game-high 27 points for the Sun Devils but his performance was akin to the band playing on as the Titanic sank.

Michael Dickerson continued his hot shooting for the Wildcats with 20 points by going 8 of 13 from the floor, while UA point guard Mike Bibby chipped in 23 points and eight assists.

"I love these guards," Newman said of Arizona's trio of perimeter players. "I see three guys that could go to the next level tomorrow."

The four guys who made the biggest impact, though, were Arizona's interior players - Harris, A.J. Bramlett, Eugene Edgerson and Bennett Davison.

Their superior strength on the offensive and defensive ends contributed to a 20-rebound advantage for the night. Davison had six points and a game-high nine rebounds. Harris finished with seven points and four rebounds after finally finding his flow and Bramlett tallied 14 points and seven rebounds but perhaps most importantly, they held ASU's big man Bobby Lazor without a rebound while Batiste had five, none of them offensive.

Ian C. Mayer Arizona Daily Wildcat UA senior forward Michael Dickerson (23) storms through Arizona State's defense in last night's 127-99 win. The fifth ranked Wildcats are scheduled to take on New Mexico at 2 p.m. Sunday at McKale Center.

But as far as Arizona head coach Lute Olson and the 14,527 at McKale Center were concerned, Eugene Edgerson was the star of the show.

"Of the inside guys, Gene played the best of all of them," Olson said. "He goes until he's tired. You go as hard as you can or you sit down and watch."

His numbers were small - seven points and seven rebounds - compared to others, but it was the little things, filling the lanes, diving for loose balls and taking charges that have been his biggest contribution.

Edgerson credited Harris' return, and the ability to go all out knowing another sub was on the bench, with his spirited play.

"It really did help," he said. "With him back we can keep going two in and two out and that just kills teams."

As both teams tired, the defense relaxed and each team began to score easy buckets. The 226 combined points is the second highest total in UA history and the highest in the Lute Olson era.

With the win, fifth-ranked Arizona improved its record to 14-3 overall and 5-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference. Arizona State fell to 12-6 overall and 2-3 in the conference.

The Wildcats' attention now turns to the 15th-ranked New Mexico Lobos, who will visit McKale Center on Sunday at 2 p.m.

"New Mexico is a really good basketball team," Olson said. "(We) know that this is going to be a challenge."

No. 5 ARIZONA 127, ARIZONA ST. 99

ARIZONA ST. (12-6)

Veal 10-18 0-0 22, Batiste 11-17 3-4 27, Lazor 5-10 2-3 12, House 3-7 0-0 7, Lewis 4-5 6-7 16, Patton 2-5 0-0 4, Kelly 5-9 1-2 11, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, DuBois 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 40-73 12-16 99.

ARIZONA (14-3)

Davison 3-3 0-0 6, Dickerson 8-13 3-3 20, Bramlett 7-12 0-5 14, Bibby 8-15 2-2 23, Simon 9-15 2-2 22, Harris 3-5 1-2 7, Tebbs 1-2 0-0 3, Terry 7-10 0-0 17, Edgerson 3-6 1-2 7, Pastner 0-1 0-0 0, Wessel 3-3 0-0 6, Jenkins 0-4 2-2 2, Stewart 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 52-89 11-18 127.

Halftime- Arizona 63, Arizona St. 44. 3-Point goals- Arizona St. 7-16 (Batiste 2-2, Lewis 2-2, Veal 2-4, House 1-4, Lazor 0-1, Patton 0-1, Jones 0-1, Smith 0-1), Arizona 12-27 (Bibby 5-8, Terry 3-6, Simon 2-5, Tebbs 1-1, Dickerson 1-5, Jenkins 0-2). Fouled out- None. Rebounds- Arizona St. 26 (Kelly 8), Arizona 46 (Davison 9). Assists-Arizona St. 23 (Veal, Lewis 8), Arizona 31 (Bibby 8). Total fouls- Arizona St. 16, Arizona 15. A- 14,527.