TUCSON, Ariz., Sporting Alert – Allonzo Trier scored 30 points and No. 3 Arizona eased past Maryland-Baltimore County 103-78 at McKale Center on Sunday. Box Score | Photo Gallery | Highlights
Trier, who scored 32 for the Wildcats (2-0) in their season-opening win over Northern Arizona on Friday night, shot 10 of 18 from the field and made five 3-pointers on Sunday.
“It’s set up for him as long as he continues to play the game this way, where he’s taking good shots,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said.
“No player that I’ve ever had and seen has worked harder on the game than Allonzo has.”
Freshman big-man DeAndre Ayton added 19 points and 13 rebounds and Ira Lee scored 10 points off the bench for Arizona, which shot 60.9 percent and scored over 100 points for the second time in as many games to start the season.
“Coach loves his big men to run a lot, and I love running the floor,” the 7-1 Ayton said. “It’s quick baskets.
Senior guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright had nine points, nine assists and three steals for the Wildcats.
Jairus Lyles scored 23 of his 31 points in the first half to lead the way for Maryland-Baltimore County (0-2), which shot 41.9 percent and made 14 of 28 attempts from 3-pointers.
“Lyles is a grad student that had options to go to other places and decided to stay with UMBC,” coach Ryan Odom said. “It means a lot for him to finish up with his teammates, family and coaches nearby.”
Lyles also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Jourdan Grant added 14 points and four assists and Arkel Lamar ended with 11 points for the Retrievers.
The Wildcats shot 15 of 28 from long-range, outrebounded Maryland-Baltimore County 41-24 and finished with 25 assists on 39 made field goals.
Arizona started slowly and trailed UMBC 11-5 after three minutes before knotting the game at 11-11 with 16:08 to play in the half.
The third-ranked team in the country then took over the contest with a 14-0 run en route to taking a 56-47 lead at halftime.
Maryland-Baltimore County cut the deficit to 58-55 early in the second half on a 3-pointer from Grant, but the Wildcats scored steadily to rebuild their double-digit advantage and then went on to pull away.
Arizona returns to action on Thursday at home against Cal State-Bakersfield
UMBC will entertain Central Penn College Thursday.
—Photo by Arizona Athletics
