National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Arizona 68, Arizona St. 51
When: 5:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 31, 2011
Where: McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona
Officials: # David Hall, # Randy Burkhart, # Michael Irving
Attendance: 14499

Jesse Perry scored a game-high 16 points and Solomon Hill had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Arizona defeated Arizona State 68-51 on Saturday in the Pac-12 Conference opener for both teams.

Perry, a senior, finished 4-of-6 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds for the Wildcats (10-4), who took a 34-20 lead into halftime.

Arizona, which has won 28 of the last 35 against Arizona State, extended its lead to 24 on Johnson’s 3-pointer with 16:52 remaining.

Nick Johnson scored 14 points and Jordin Mayes added eight for the Wildcats, who were 8-for-20 from 3-point range.

Arizona improved to 8-1 at home and extended its win streak to three games, and also improved to 23-11 all-time in conference openers.

Arizona State (4-9), meanwhile, lost for the fourth straight time after converting only 4-of-15 of its 3-point attempts. Ruslan Pateev scored a team-high 12 points.

The Sun Devils were inefficient offensively and committed 19 turnovers. Carrick Felix finished with nine points and six rebounds for Arizona State, which had its second-lowest point total of the season.
Top Game Performances
 
Arizona St.   Arizona
Ruslan Pateev 12 Scoring Jesse Perry 16
Jonathan Gilling 6 Assists Kyle Fogg 4
Carrick Felix 6 Rebounds Solomon Hill 10
Ruslan Pateev 4 Free Throws Made Jesse Perry 7
Kyle Cain 2 Steals Josiah Turner 5
Carrick Felix 1 Blocks Solomon Hill 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Arizona St. 51 36.0 4-15 11-15 12 27 3 7 19
Arizona 68 44.7 8-20 18-23 16 29 2 10 15