National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Arizona 83, North Dakota State 53
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, December 18, 2017
Where: McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona
Officials: # David Hall, # Tony Padilla, # Frank Harvey
Attendance: 14048

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona won its sixth consecutive game but may have lost a preseason All-American to injury.

Junior guard Allonzo Trier went down -- and pounded the court in pain -- after colliding with North Dakota State's Paul Miller with 9:53 left in Arizona's 83-53 win on Monday night in McKale Center. Trier left the court with assistance.

Arizona coach Sean Miller said he had no specific report on the injury, adding, "We're hoping for the best. You really don't know about those things until you let a night go by.

"We think he suffered some sort of a bone bruise. It's scary for a player when that happens because it doesn't feel right. We're hoping for some good news. It seems to be positive, but we will know more tomorrow."

Trier went into the season a preseason first-team All-American and was averaging 22.3 points per game. He scored 15 points before he left on Monday night.

By the time Trier went out, Arizona had a 60-31 lead and was cruising behind 7-foot-1 freshman Deandre Ayton, who scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down nine rebounds.

"We knew they were going to go at us in the post," North Dakota State coach David Richman said. "We did a pretty good job early on, but then they hit a couple of threes and we got away from some things. ... They have some guys they can just throw it up to and it's kind of hard for my guys to make a play when it's that high."

How was it playing against a team that tries to defend with one guy?

"Paradise," Ayton said, smiling. "I usually don't see the one defender that's on me. I look at the help defender, but I see paradise."

Arizona (9-3) has won 46 consecutive nonconference games on its home court and 76 of its past 78 home games overall dating back to the 2012-13 season.

The Wildcats started the second half as it ended the first one, outscoring North Dakota State on a big run, 18-6 in the first 5 1/2 minutes.

Arizona broke open what was already a big-margin game. The Wildcats led 56-29 with 14 minutes left.

Arizona guard Rawle Alkins, who made his second start of the season after being out with a foot injury, didn't score his first basket until 3:42 remained in the first half. He finished with 11 points after scoring a career-high 26 against New Mexico on Saturday.

Paul Miller led North Dakota State (5-6) with 12 points. Cameron Hunter added 11 points.

North Dakota State had the lead for most of the first 11 minutes of the game, going up 16-13 with 10:40 remaining in the first half. However, Arizona slowly took over behind Ayton, who had two dunks as part of a 9-2 run to make it 22-18.

The Bison rallied to tie it at 22 with 6:32 left in the half. North Dakota State hit four of its first 10 3-pointers to stay in the game -- until it went 0-for-6 from long distance the rest of the way in the half.

"I thought we came out and executed the game plan pretty well," Richman said. "We were moving the ball, but they made some adjustments and went smaller. They were able to pressure us out of some things that certainly had an effect those last six, seven, eight minutes of the first half. That really set the tone going forward."

North Dakota State failed to score in the final 6:54 of the game, going 0-for-7 from the floor and getting outscored 16-0.

NOTES: Wildcats F Deandre Ayton has double-doubles in nine of his first 12 games. He ranks third nationally in double-doubles ... Arizona moved up from No. 23 to No. 18 in the AP rankings on Monday. The Wildcats started the season No. 2. ... Arizona freshman F Emmanuel Akot played in his first game after missing the last two. Coach Sean Miller said Akot had dealt with knee issues the past couple of weeks. ... Wildcats freshman G Alex Barcello played after missing the last game because of an ankle sprain. ... North Dakota State's opponents are a collective 47-10 this season, making for a tough Bison schedule ... The Bison are 3-13 vs. Top 25 teams over the years. Their last victory against a ranked team came against No. 20 Oklahoma in 2014. ... North Dakota State has lost four of its past six games.
Top Game Performances
 
North Dakota State   Arizona
Paul Miller 12 Scoring DeAndre Ayton 25
Paul Miller 4 Assists Allonzo Trier 4
Tyson Ward 6 Rebounds DeAndre Ayton 9
Deng Geu 2 Free Throws Made Rawle Alkins 5
Cameron Hunter 1 Steals Brandon Randolph 2
Deng Geu 1 Blocks Rawle Alkins 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
North Dakota State 53 37.0 8-27 5-10 11 27 1 3 13
Arizona 83 50.0 5-20 12-13 15 40 4 4 5