12/4/1987

Wildcats overcome shakes, when by 32

Come back with 61 points in second half

By Jay Gonzales
The Arizona Daily Star

University of Arizona guard Steve Kerr said he didn’t see the jitters coming when the ninth-ranked Wildcats stepped on the McKale center floor last night against California State-Long Beach.

The Wildcats struggled through a poor-shooting first half, but they shot off the shakes with a 61-point second half and pulled away to a 94-62 men’s basketball victory before a sellout crowd of 13,217.

"We were just listless, that’s all," said Kerr, who was one-for-five from the field in the first half. "People will say that we weren’t ready, but I felt ready to play. Even though we felt we were prepared, we didn’t come out and play well."

UA forward Sean Elliott said the Wildcats appeared to approach the game with caution after an impressive showing at the Great Alaska Shootout. It showed in the first half when the Wildcats were six of 19 from the field in the first 12 minutes. Arizona entered the game shooting 59 percent.

"There’s a lot of pressure on us now," he said. "When we go out there, everybody is shooting for us. We looked like we were walking on pins and needles."

The Wildcats, 4-0, missed their first six field-goal attempts as the 49ers went ahead, 6-1. Arizona’s only score in the first three minutes was on a free throw by forward Anthony Cook.

"I was mad because I was missing wide open, easy shots," said Kerr, who finished with nine points on two-of-six shooting from the field. "I had plenty of open shots and plenty of opportunities, but I just wasn’t hitting any."

Ken Lofton’s three-point field goal gave Arizona its first lead, 13-12, with 11:45 left in the half, and the lead changed hands four more times before halftime.

The 49ers, 1-1, held their last lead, 23-21, when Andre Purry scored on a short jump shot in the lane. John Hatten, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound center, scored 10 points during the early going after getting the start when Purry was bench for disciplinary reasons.

Kerr tied the game with a 19-foot shot from the top of the key, his first field goal after four misses from three-point range, and he converted two free throws for a 25-23 lead.

Elliott and Tom Tolbert combined for eight points over the last three minutes to help the Wildcats to a 33-27 halftime lead. Tolbert scored on a short, baseline jump shot just before the buzzer.

"I thought we did a good job in the first half, but they obviously weren’t going to let us come in here and steal one," said Cal State-Long Beach Coach Joe Harrington. "I thought they exerted themselves in the second half. They wore us down inside."

UA coach Lute Olson said he told his team to exploit the 49ers inside in the second half, and Tolbert and Cook responded by scoring the Wildcats first six points.

Tolbert had two short jump shots in the first minute. Cook drew a foul under the basket and converted two free throws as Arizona built a 10-point advantage.

"At the half, our biggest concern was that we were not hitting the perimeter shot we normally hit," Olson said. "I indicated that we had to get the ball inside more consistently and take it to the basket."

After going inside early to lead, 39-31, the Wildcats went back to the outside where Kerr made a three-pointer for a 42-31 lead with 18:11 left in the half. Less than a minute later, Elliott scored from 15 feet along the baseline, forcing the 49ers to take a timeout.

"In the first half, we had good offensive patience, but in the second half we didn’t," Harrington said. "Then we compounded that by playing poor half-court defense. The pressure didn’t affect them in the second half."

Cook worked for nine points and eight rebounds in the second half, to finish with 15 points and the game-high 12 rebounds. Elliott was the game’s high scorer with 23 points.

"Anthony Cook had an outstanding ballgame," Olson said. "He was very active offensively and defensively."

But Olson said he pretty much agreed with the players’ diagnosis of the first half.

"Our biggest problem getting them ready was that despite everything we did on the floor to convince them that Long Beach was going to come at us and play hard. Everywhere they went they would hear about how great they were in Alaska," Olson said. "Nowhere else was anyone talking about Long Beach State. They were still talking about the Shootout title."

WILDCAT NOTES: Arizona’s 6-10 freshman Sean Rooks and Mark Georgeson said last night that they both will redshirt this season and return next year is freshman in terms of eligibility.… Former UA quarterback Craig Bergman, who joined the squad two weeks ago, got his first playing time last night. He played two minutes and made one of two free throws with nine seconds left.