No. 12 Arizona tops Charleston Southern
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Mark Lyons scored 17 points and dished out six assists to help the 12th-ranked Arizona Wildcats open the season with an 82-73 victory over Charleston Southern at McKale Center.
Solomon Hill supplied 14 points and five rebounds for Arizona (1-0), which got 12 points apiece from Nick Johnson and Brandon Ashley.
"Tonight, it was so much about defense. And we struggled against their offense," said Arizona coach Sean Miller.
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Arlon Harper had a game-high 20 points for the Buccaneers (0-2), who opened their season with a 10-point loss at Charlotte on Friday.
Charleston Southern scored the game's first six points, and Paul Gombwer drained a 3-pointer to put the visitors up 15-7 a little more than five minutes after the opening tip.
The Wildcats continued to trail until a 10-0 run, capped by a Jordin Mayes trey, put them up 29-25 with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining. Down by three, Arizona closed out the half with the final seven points to head into the break with a 43-39 edge.
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It remained a tight contest well into the second half, but consecutive threes by Hill and Lyons, a senior transfer from Xavier, made it 65-57 with 6 1/2 minutes left. Four minutes later, Lyons hit a layup to extend Arizona's lead to double figures at 77-66.
The outcome was never in doubt down the stretch.
Game Notes
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Mayes scored 10 points and Ashley grabbed eight rebounds ...Mathiang Muo contributed 16 points for Charleston Southern. Saah Nimley added 11 points, eight boards and seven assists for the Buccaneers.