By
Chris Martin
Arizona Daily Wildcat
It w Wildcats dominate All-Stars, 104-66, behind strong play from Walton
asn't so much a basketball game as a track meet at McKale Center last night when the UA men's basketball handed the EA Sports/California West All-Stars a 104-66 loss.
Using a 10-man rotation, the Wildcats were able to wear out the All-Stars, especially in the second half, when UA went on a 30-8 run to open the half.
Arizona went on to outscore the All-Stars 61-34 in the final half.
"I think we got a lot out of tonight," senior center Loren Woods said. "It is good to see some other people on the other side than ourselves. I think it was an even bigger test because this California team is a good team.
Sophomore forward Lute Walton came off the bench with a hot hand, shooting 7-for-8 from the field and leading all scorers with 16 points, 12 of which came in the second half.
"I thought Luke Walton played exceptionally off the bench," Arizona head coach Lute Olson said. "You can see his confidence and shooting is way up from what it was a year ago. Luke Walton was probably the player of the game."
All five Arizona starters - senior center Loren Woods, sophomore guards Gilbert Arenas and Jason Gardner; and junior forwards Richard Jefferson and Michael Wright - reached double figures in scoring, as Arizona used a balanced team effort to dominate an All-Stars team that had played its sixth game in as many nights.
The fatigue showed as the game went on, as the All-Stars shot only 19.5-percent in the second half as Arizona continued to put wave after wave of fresh legs on the floor.
Travis Hanour came to life in the second half after playing only three minutes in the opening half. The freshman guard displayed his three point touch by going 2-for-2 from behind the arc and ended the game with eight points and six rebounds.
"The first time I got out there I was a little hesitant," Hanour said. "After my first shot, it felt good. After that first shot I pretty much sat back and played."
The second unit of - Walton, Hanour, senior guard Lamont Frazier and senior forwards Justin Wessel and Eugene Edgerson - applied intense defensive pressure throughout the game.
Arizona forced 17 All-Stars turnovers and outrebounded the team 51-41.
Frazier spear-headed the defensive pressure by the second unit as he used his quickness to hound All-Stars point guard Corey Andrews. Andrews was 3-for-10 from the field for the night.
"I thought (Frazier) did a nice job," Olson said. "Lamont is our best defensive guard, there is no question about that. You could see he really harassed the guy well out there."
It took awhile for the Wildcats to find their rhythm though as the All-Stars jumped out to a 7-0 lead to begin the game.
An alley-oop from Jefferson to Arenas put the first points on the board for UA as the team had started 0-for-7 from the field.
After a 14-4 scoring run late in the half gave the Wildcats a comfortable 16-point lead, the team seemed to find its stride and never looked back as the game was put easily out of reach in the second half.
"It was a lot better than the Red/Blue Game," Wright said. "We had a lot of rotation and people playing hard and the motion was there.
"Luke Walton, he played a superb game. Everybody from Loren to (freshman guard) Mike Schwertley played a good game. I was just happy to get to see everybody play against new faces."
