Azuolas Tubelis scored 22 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 20 as No. 3 Arizona used a dominant second half to put away Pac-12 rival Oregon State 83-69 on Thursday night in Tucson, Ariz., for its seventh consecutive win.
Christian Koloko scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Wildcats (23-2, 13-1 Pac-12), who sent the last-place Beavers (3-21, 1-13) to their 11th consecutive loss.
Jarod Lucas and Roman Silva led Oregon State with 13 points each, and Maurice Calloo scored 10.
Arizona went 6-for-6 from the field and scored on its first seven possessions of the second half to turn a two-point halftime lead into a 59-47 advantage. The Wildcats led by double digits the rest of the way, going up by as many as 23 points.
Arizona held the Beavers to 32.4 percent shooting following the break. The Wildcats eventually asserted their size advantage, outrebounding the Beavers 42-32 and outscoring Oregon State 52-28 in the paint.
Tubelis made 8 of 14 shots and grabbed seven rebounds in 24 minutes. Dalen Terry filled the box score with eight points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Wildcats, who entered the night leading the nation in assists at 20.1 per game, showed off their share-the-ball mentality with 26 assists on 32 baskets. Nine players had at least one.
Oregon State shot well early, making five 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes, and led 30-27 with 6:35 remaining in the first half.
Arizona began to turn the pace of the game in its favor, running at every opportunity and throwing down three dunks during a 17-4 run capped by Kerr Kriisa’s 3-point shot that put the Wildcats ahead 43-34. But Oregon State closed the half with an 8-1 burst in the final two minutes to make it 44-42 at the break.
–Field Level Media
