No. 24 Arizona beats Davidson, snaps two-game skid at Battle 4 Atlantis

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Anthony Dell’Orso hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points, Caleb Love added three 3s and 20 points and No. 24 Arizona pulled away for a 104-71 victory over Davidson at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday night to snap a two-game skid.

Trey Townsend added 17 points, Tobe Awaka had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Motiejus Krivas scored 10 points for Arizona (3-2), which shot 57% and made 11 of 22 from 3-point range.

Connor Kochera scored 20 points and Bobby Durkin hit five 3s and added 15 points for Davidson (4-1), which shot 38% and made just 11 of 34 3-point tries.

Arizona’s 17-point second-half lead was cut to six about 7 1/2 minutes into the second half but the team outscored Davidson 36-9 the rest of the way.

Arizona led at halftime 49-37.

Takeaways

Arizona arrived at this tournament after losses to Wisconsin and Duke. Once ranked No. 9 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Wildcats had slipped to No. 24. They’re trying to keep alive a streak of having been ranked in the last 61 AP polls. This victory helps but there are more obstacles ahead in this tourney.

Key moment

Townsend’s second 3-pointer to cap an 18-4 run left Davidson behind after it had cut an earlier 17-point deficit to six points.

Key stats

Though Arizona shot well from the arc, much of its effort went to using its dominance inside to outscore Davidson 50-28 in the paint. It’s interior defense helped hold Davidson’s top offensive weapon, 6-foot-11 Reed Bailey, a 19 points-per-game scorer, to nine points and 3-of-11 shooting.

Up next

Arizona takes on Oklahoma, a 79-77 winner over Providence, in the semifinals on Thursday. Davidson will play the Friars in the consolation bracket.