Tucson, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Rondae Hollis-Jefferson tallied 13 points and eight rebounds as No. 8 Arizona got back on track with an easy 73-49 victory over Arizona State at the McKale Center.
Stanley Johnson had 13 points and seven rebounds to help the Wildcats (13-1, 1-0 Pac-12) bounce back from their lone defeat of the season, a 71-67 loss at UNLV on Dec. 23.
Brandon Ashley also scored 13 points in a Pac-12 opener in which Arizona led by 20 at halftime and was never threatened by its in-state rival.
Arizona State (8-6, 0-1) shot just 32.6 percent and committed 22 turnovers. with no Sun Devil finishing in double figures. Gerry Blakes paced ASU with nine points.
The Wildcats displayed little rust from their 12-day layoff, sinking four attempts from 3-point range in the game's first five minutes en route to taking a 15-7 lead they built upon later in the opening half.
Six straight points shortly afterward extended Arizona's advantage to 21-8 eight minutes into the period, and the margin was 18 with 6:03 left in the frame after Gabe York's dunk off an ASU turnover finished off a 12-2 run that made the score 33-15.
Arizona, which shot 58.6 percent for the first half, closed out the stanza with six straight points to own a commanding 45-25 lead at the break.
The Wildcats continued to increase the margin following the intermission, with two Ashley free throws and a Dusan Ristic basket putting Arizona up by a 56-31 count with under 14 minutes to go.
A 13-4 surge, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Jonathan Gilling, brought the Sun Devils within 60-44 just past the midway mark of the second half. Arizona State got no closer, however, as the Wildcats countered with a 7-1 push to put the game completely out of reach.
Game Notes
Arizona has now won 13 straight Pac-12 home games and 30 in a row overall at the McKale Center ... The Wildcats finished 5-of-10 on 3-point tries and outrebounded the Sun Devils 33-23 ... Arizona State has lost in five straight visits to Tucson ... The Arizona athletic department announced Saturday that it will retire the jersey of NBA veteran Jason Terry during the Wildcats' home game against USC on Feb. 19.
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