The preseason came to a close last night for the Arizona men's basketball squad as the Wildcats dropped Team Nike, 116-91 in McKale Center.
Arizona hit the century mark in points for the second time this preseason while six Wildcats scored in double figures.
Sophomore forward Andre Iguodala led the way for the Wildcats, posting his second double-double in as many games. His 23 points and 12 rebounds led the team, which tallied 58 points in both halves.
Nike put the Wildcats to work early in the game, jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead thanks in part to lay-ups by Wayland White and Jeff Boschee.
Guard Mustafa Shakur put Arizona on the board with the first of his 19 points. The freshman had a banner night, going 3-of-3 from behind the arc to go along with eight assists.
Nike was able to keep pace with the lightning-fast Wildcats for most of the first half. But Iguodala's 3-pointer with 4:03 left to play in the opening period capped off a 8-2 Arizona run that gave the Wildcats' their biggest lead and ignited the crowd in the process.
For the first time this preseason, Arizona was matched up against a team with considerable size that seemed to get stronger as the game progressed.
"We gave up too many offensive rebounds," said UA head coach Lute Olson said after the game. "But we did a good job of getting the ball down the court quickly as time went on."
Speed once again was the ultimate factor, however, as the Wildcats built a 10-point lead late in the first. As Nike began to chip away at the deficit with a 6-0 spurt, Shakur's inexperience showed when the freshman was called for traveling along the baseline with 1:26 to play in the half.
After two Salim Stoudamire free throws and a Justin Tatum lay-up for Team Nike, Shakur redeemed himself by squaring up and draining a 3-pointer as time expired, giving the Wildcats a 58-48 edge at halftime.
Stoudamire shook off a thigh injury he suffered in practice on Monday with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor.
With under a minute left to play, the sophomore guard was knocked to the ground and was slow to get up. With the Wildcats jumping out to a large lead, Olson rested Stoudamire for most of the second half, playing the Portland, Ore. native for only 10 minutes in the half.
Nike jumped on the Wildcats again at the start of the second half, scoring the first four points. The next three minutes belonged to Arizona, however, as the Wildcats went on a 12-0 run to push their lead to 70-52. With Nike on the run, Arizona opened up the game, showcasing its speed and athleticism.
The dunks began to pile up as Arizona pushed its lead to 28. Iguodala brought the near-capacity crowd to its feet with two monster dunks in a span of a minute - the second coming on a lob from Shakur. Not to be outdone, Chris Rodgers, the first player off the bench for Arizona, lit up Nike by setting up two dunks to junior Channing Frye. On the first slam, the sophomore guard fed Frye a towering lob that soared above the shot clock and into the 6-foot-11 center's grasp for a rim-shaking two points.
The backcourt duo of Rodgers and Shakur teamed up for Frye's second dunk. Rodgers took a no-look Shakur pass and spun it behind his back to an awaiting Frye for the easy score.
"I wanted to come out and show the crowd what I'm capable off," Rodgers said. "My game has a lot of flair in it. I just tried to showcase it."
"Chris Rodgers played well tonight," Iguodala said. "He provided a spark for us."
With the game safely in hand, Olson pulled his starters with two minutes left and the Wildcats leading, 107-85. From there, it was time for Arizona's reserves to contribute. They did, outscoring Nike 9-6 during the game's final minutes.
Freshman guard Beau Muhlbach showed his leaping capabilities by swatting a Team Nike shot, and senior guard Fil Torres closed the scoring by drilling a 3-pointer.
Playing in his second game as a Wildcat, freshman Kirk Walters did not fare as well as he did in last week's exhibition against Sydney. The 6-foot-10 center was held to six points and four rebounds, and found himself in Olson's doghouse after blowing a coverage.
"(Olson) got on me because I didn't double (team)," Walters said. "He's pushing me to get a lot better."
The game against Nike was the final tune-up for the Wildcats, who begin their regular season Monday in McKale Center against Northern Arizona.