The Associated Press

Arizona's Luke Walton slam dunks against Purdue during the first half of the John Wooden Classic men's college basketball double-header at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Calif., Saturday.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Luke Walton and Rick Anderson scored 17 points each, and Jason Gardner added 14 as No. 7 Arizona took command early in beating Purdue 79-66 on Saturday.

Walton also had a career-high 13 rebounds, and Anderson had nine to lead Arizona to a 49-28 advantage in that department.

The game at Anaheim Arena was the opener of the eighth Wooden Classic, named for the 90-year-old former UCLA coach who guided the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships in 12-year span ending with his retirement in 1975.

No. 20 UCLA faced No. 16 Alabama in the nightcap.

Willie Deane came off the bench to lead Purdue (5-3) with 19 points, and Darmetreis Kilgore and Joe Marshall added 11 each for the Boilermakers.

Maynard Lewis, who entered the game as Purdue's leading scorer with a 14.4-point average, was held to six points – all in the second half.

Arizona (5-1), vulnerable at times defensively this season, did an excellent job in that area and dominated the backboards in an impressive first half.

The Wildcats outrebounded Purdue 31-12, and made 22 of 39 shots (56.4 percent) in rolling to a 49-30 halftime lead. The Boilermakers hit only 10 of 33 shots (30.3 percent) in the opening 20 minutes.

Arizona finished 35-of-65 (53.8 percent) to 23-of-63 (36.5 percent) for Purdue.

Walton made three straight baskets to give Arizona a 12-6 lead, and the Wildcats were on top the rest of the way.

The Boilermakers went six minutes without a field goal before Marshall's layup, but Gardner made a 3-point shot to extended Arizona's lead to 25-9 after nine minutes.

Baskets by Salim Stoudamire, Gardner and Will Bynum put the Wildcats ahead 43-19 before Purdue went on an 11-6 run to finish the half.

Purdue outscored Arizona 21-8 to draw within 10 points, but Walton scored five points to spark an 11-0 Arizona run, making it 75-54. Purdue went on a 12-4 spurt to finish the game.

Unranked at the beginning of the season, Arizona moved into the Top 10 thanks to victories over No. 3 Maryland, No. 6 Florida and Texas before a 105-97 loss to No. 4 Kansas.

And in their most recent game, the Wildcats beat No. 5 Illinois 87-81. Next is a date with No. 24 Michigan State, making it three straight Big Ten opponents.

Purdue coach Gene Keady remains stuck at 499 wins, including 19 during the 1995-96 season that were forfeited because of NCAA rules violations.

The Boilermakers had won three straight since losses to No. 14 Stanford and Butler.