Wildcats score 116 in offensive slugfest

RANDY METCALF/Arizona Daily Wildcat

UA junior point guard Jason Gardner elevates for a jump shot last night against the EA Sports Southwest All-Stars in McKale Center. The Wildcats won the game 112-96.

Bring on the Terrapins.

In the only exhibition game before its regular season begins Thursday against No. 3 Maryland in New York City, the Arizona men's basketball team managed to put away a pesky EA Sports team 112-96 last night.

It was the first time this season the Wildcats were able to compete against somebody other than themselves. Junior point guard Jason Gardner said it was good for the team to compete against unfamiliar players.

"I think anytime you play anyone other than playing yourself that helps out a lot and lets you see where you stand," Gardner said. "It is always a good situation when you can beat up on somebody else rather than beating up on yourselves."

Freshman center Isaiah Fox - who appears to have earned a starting position because of his strong rebounding - made his presence felt early, grabbing offensive rebounds and running the floor.

Fox scored four points during a run that gave the Wildcats an early 14-8 lead en route to scoring 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting and 11 rebounds.

EA Sports managed to fight back all night, keeping the game close with stellar outside shooting. As a team, EA Sports finished 14-for-35 from behind the arc.

Guard Shannon Taylor led the traveling team with three early three consecutive three-pointers to tie the game at 27 before hitting a layup in traffic to take a two-point lead early.

Taylor - who came off the bench - led all scorers with 23 points.

The Wildcats countered with a guard of their own, freshman Will Bynum who, like Taylor, provided a spark off the bench.

Bynum led all scorers after the first half with 13 points on 4-4 shooting, and finished the game with 20 points.

Head coach Lute Olson said he was pleased with how UA's five freshmen - Bynum, Fox, Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye and Dennis Latimore - came out in the first half.

"I thought the freshman did a good job," head coach Lute Olson said. "Bynum came in and gave us a big lift."

In the second half, Arizona managed to increase the lead to 14 at 81-67 with 12:44 remaining, but again it was the long range shooting of EA Sports that kept the game close.

After consecutive three pointers by Tony Harvey and Maurice Spillers, the Wildcat lead was shaved to 85-77.

Taylor's hot shooting lasted only for the first half, as he managed only four points in the second frame, but still finished with a game-high 23.

Things heated up when Taylor was called for a frustration technical foul for arguing a no-call involving Gardner.

Gardner sank the free throws, but the game's intensity only grew as UA's lead got bigger.

Former USC star Adam Spanich - who hit a game-winning shot against the Wildcats four years ago to spoil UA's bid for an undefeated Pacific 10 Conference record - was involved in numerous scrambles on the floor which prompted scattered boos from the crowd, who he taunted throughout the game.

Spanich finished with 14 points in 20 minutes of play.

After struggling to stay with EA Sports all game, the Wildcats finally put the game away with a 17-10 run that featured an alley-oop from Bynum to freshman Latimore.

Bynum said it was easy for him to get into his game, both offensively and defensively.

"I wasn't really nervous," Bynum said. "I was just trying to play hard. Coach (Olson) wanted me to rebound, so I tried to be aggressive on the boards."

Bynum shared time at the point guard with Gardner, but also played in a three-guard lineup with Stoudamire and Gardner in an attempt to create a quickness mismatch.

"I thought (the small lineup) worked well," Bynum said. "We were out there scrambling."

Olson said he was not planning on using the three-guard lineup, but liked the results.

"I think we built the lead with the three guys in there," Olson said. "I know there are going to be some problems (with rebounding), but we created a tremendous amount of problems for them in terms of covering the (fast) break."